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By Joginder Tuteja, August 17, 2009 - 12:53 IST
MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Kay Kay Menon, Raj Singh Chaudhary, Abhimanyu Shekhar Singh, Mahie Gill, Deepak Dobriyal, Jessy Randhawa, Aditya Srivastav, Pankaj Jha, Piyush Mishra,
Ayesha Mohan
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Producer: Zee Limelight
Music: Piyush Mishra
THE FILM
Anurag Kashyap is one film maker who has been bubbling with energy. His enthusiasm is reflected in the wide repertoire of work that he owns since the time he
turned director. So whether it is his unreleased Paanch or subsequent films like No Smoking, Black Friday, Return of Hanuman and one of the
best films of 2009 so far, Dev D, each of them has belonged to a different genre and has told a different story. His movies may or may not have worked
at the box office but no one can accuse him of being repetitive or telling a story that has been seen before.
And the story is indeed different in case of Gulaal too which takes the audience to the socio-political situation in Rajasthan. The very opening
sequence of the film with Kay Kay Menon leading a bunch of revolutionaries is excellently narrated that sets the tone for the film to follow. In fact this
sequence also acts as a platform to get into the film's background that dealt with something as small but quite powerful as student politics.
This very aspect of the film also reminds audience of a lesser known but effective film called Dil Dosti Etc. which was released a couple of years
back. Nothing wrong with that as long as the drama is intense and engaging, which indeed is the case for the entire first half of the film.
Watch out for the chemistry between Raj Singh Chaudhary, a student and Abhimanyu Singh, who is a prince but lives as a commoner in order to move out of a
feudal setting. To go with the flow of his character, Raj Singh has to be subdued and meek for most portions of the film. However, it is Abhimanyu Singh who
is the real colour of Gulaal. He gets the meatiest part in the film and when his character dies in the film, frankly the film too almost faints. Such
is the stranglehold of this character and also the way Abhimanyu gives his all to the role that Gulaal starts meandering from this point on.
It's this second half of the film where the movie seems to be carried away in different tangents. The student politics and the revolution angle stay intact
but different streams pertaining to family feud, love; lust and betrayal get thrown in as well which makes the film an exhaustive exercise. Also, with
liberal use of expletives, a family audience has to be really careful while watching the film on a DVD.
In fact if not for the excellent performances, Gulaal may not have remained reasonably engaging in this half of the film. So whether it is Kay Kay
Menon or Aditya Srivastava or Deepak Dobriyal or Abhimanyu Singh or Piyush Mishra or Ayesha Mohan or Mahie Gill or Raj Singh Chaudhary - each of the actors
give a great account of themselves.
Gulaal is a film with a feudal setting to it that also brings on elements of revolution, student politics, and greed for power, self respect and anger
amongst others.
PACKAGING
DVD of Gulaal comes in a regular plastic case
DURATION
The film's duration is 136 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES
None
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo
PRICE
Rs. 299/=
CONCLUSION
Gulaal is meant for a cerebral audience, the kind that wants to keep their brains functioning when the film is on. It is which is meant for a niche
audience which wants to move away from the routine 'naachgaana' affair.
 
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