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Accuse him of thinking abstract,
but you cannot accuse Anurag Kashyap of following the
stereotype. In GULAAL, the storyteller attempts to tell
multiple stories in one film.
 Student politics, a
separate state for Rajputs, an intense love story that
has a disastrous end… Kashyap's GULAAL is intelligent,
intense, disturbing, poignant and expectedly, cerebral.
GULAAL is thought-provoking and has the power to engage
you at various points of the narrative. Honestly, it
takes time to get the hang of things. Actually, you
don't take to the sundry characters and the
relationships instantly, but the complex relationships,
their motives, the culmination, each layer is peeled as
the story progresses.
Write your own movie review of Gulaal
Yet, at the same time, a film like GULAAL isn't the type
that would cut ice with every strata of moviegoers. The
expletives are aplenty [not required, actually; why does
Kashyap have them in film after film?], the second hour
meanders at times and most importantly, the material
restricts it from reaching out to a universal audience.
Dileep [Raj Singh Chaudhary] comes to Jaipur to study.
Here, he comes in contact with Rananjay Singh Ransa [Abhimanyu
Singh], Jadwal [Pankaj Jha], Anuja [Jesse Randhawa],
Dukey Bana [Kay Kay Menon] and Kiran [Ayesha Mohan].
 Dukey Bana convinces Ransa to contest the college
elections on behalf of the Rajputana party; Ransa and
Kiran battle it for General Secretary's post. The
rivalry between the two gangs intensifies and Ransa is
forced to withdraw, which he resists. Eventually, this
leads to his murder by Karan [Aditya Srivastav]. Dileep
is compelled to contest elections in Ransa's place and
made to win.
After losing the elections, Kiran tries winning Dileep's
trust, gets close to him and pretends to fall in love.
As he tries to fit into the shoes of the General
Secretary, an insecure Dileep gets emotionally dependent
on Kiran. Dileep finds himself trapped in political
manoeuvres. It dawns to him that he is being used by
Dukey.
Dukey Bana is masterminding a Rajputana movement, to
have a separate state ruled by Rajputs. In a gamut of
red faces [gulaal is put over the faces to mask their
true identity], Dileep sees the truth behind Dukey and
his actions.
 Kiran takes charge as the General Secretary. As soon as
in power, she refuses to meet Dileep and tries to get
close to Dukey using her feminine charm. A lovelorn and
rejected Dileep gets more and more frustrated, abusive
and violent in desperation. Blinded by his love for
Kiran, Dileep goes into a frenzy, becoming a sorry and
inevitable victim of circumstances.
GULAAL isn't for the faint-hearted. Nor is it for those
looking for escapist cinema. Anurag Kashyap movies are
dark [this one's gruesome as well] and you either take
to them or you don't. There's no in between!
A few individualistic sequences leave a profound impact.
Take the sequence when Raj Singh Chaudhary is stripped
naked and thrown into a dark chamber. Take the sequence
when Aditya Srivastav kills Abhimanyu Singh and the
dialogue that precedes that sequence. Take the sequence
when Ayesha Mohan does a complete somersault and refuses
to meet Raj.
 GULAAL has its share of shortcomings. With so many
stories running parallel, the second hour takes a really
long time to wind up things and reach the culmination.
Besides, the confrontation in the end, between Kay Kay
and Raj Singh Chaudhary, could've been shortened. Too
much dialoguebaazi, even after Kay Kay has been shot.
Also, if the film talks of today's times, how come the
police are shown as passive watchers to all the
killings, abductions, murders, et al? Even the media,
which is hungry for the smallest of story, is absent.
The writing could've been tighter.
Rajeev Ravi's cinematography is first-rate. Dialogues
are acidic and the expletives are difficult to absorb
after a point. Piyush Mishra's lyrics are
thought-provoking.
The film is embellished with supreme performances. Kay
Kay is in splendid form. Raj Singh Chaudhary has the
talent. Aditya Srivastav does well, but deserved more
footage. Piyush Mishra is excellent. Abhimanyu Singh
leaves a strong impact. Ayesha Mohan is top notch. Mahie
Gill is perfect. Deepak Dobriyal is first-rate. Pankaj
Jha is effective. Jesse Randhawa gets no scope.
On the whole, GULAAL is interesting in parts. The film
may appeal to those looking for a change from the
run-of-the-mill fares week after week. Its business will
be best at multiplexes of metros.
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