Guns and Gulaabs Review: Skillfully Blending Themes of Violence and Love
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Gulshan Devaiah, Dulquer Salmaan, Adarsh Gourav, Satish Kaushik, T.J Bhanu, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Pooja Gaur
Director: Raj & DK
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and a half stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
After The Family Man and Farzi, Raj and DK‘s pair is present with the third web series Guns and Gulaabs. This series has been released on Netflix. The first two web series came on Prime Video. Raj and DK open their account on Netflix with Guns and Gulaabs. Those who follow Raj & DK’s filmography would be aware of their style of storytelling and presentation. Irrespective of the circumstances, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK’s scenes have a constant layer of humor. If the story is like Guns and Gulaabs, then there is a lot of scope to make the scenes funny. Raj and DK have taken full advantage of the opportunity in this series. From the making of the characters to their presentation on screen, the humor remains. However, in this sequence, stagnation is felt at some places in the series. Guns and Gulaabs is a crime comedy-drama series that boasts an excellent star cast but impresses in bits and pieces.
Guns and Gulaabs Review: The Story Plot
The story is set in Gulabganj, a fictional town set in the 90s, where the underworld is fueled by the illegal trade of opium. At one end of this business is Bhai Saheb i.e. Ganchi (Satish Kaushik), while at the other end is Nabid (Nilesh Diwekar), who used to be Ganchi’s henchman, but after the birth of Ganchi’s son Chhota Ganchi (Adarsh Gaurav) Later he rebelled against his brother and established his separate authority in the neighboring town of Sherpur. At present, the biggest enemy of Ganchi is Nabid. To eliminate Ganchi, Nabid has called contract killer Char Kat Atmaram (Gulshan Devaiah) from Bombay. Atmaram starts it with his right-hand Babu Tiger of Ganchi. Babu’s son Tipu (Rajkumar Rao) does not like his father and has absolutely no feelings for him.
He is a bike-scooter repairer, and his dream is to become famous in Gulabganj not as Tipu Tiger, but as Tipu Motor. His life starts at his shop and ends with Chandralekha (TJ Bhanu), an English teacher at the local school, with whom he has an unrequited love. Bhai Sahib gets a huge order of opium from Kolkata’s Sukanto and a month, but he gets injured in an accident at home and goes into a coma. Now Chhota Ganchi takes up the responsibility of fulfilling this order, as he has to prove himself worthy in the eyes of his father. His biggest pain is that Senior Ganchi does not consider him worth anything.
The biggest obstacle in the way of completing the order is Narcotics Bureau officer Arjun Verma (Dulquer Salmaan), who has recently arrived in Gulabganj from Delhi. Arjun was in the post of DCP in Delhi but reached Gulabganj due to being involved in a political corruption of 60 crores. Arjun is honest and loves his wife Madhu (Pooja Gor) and daughter Jyotsna (Suhani Sethi) very much. Arjun also has a secret – his love affair (Shreya Dhanwantri – cameo). IAS officer Pratap (Varun Badola), who is in jail in Delhi because of Arjun’s investigation, wants to destroy him. For this, he threatens to convey Arjun’s love affair to his wife.
Seeing no way out, Arjun makes a deal with him to pay a huge amount. Arjun now has only one way to fulfill Pratap’s demand. Delivering all the legal-illegal opium of Gulabganj and Sherpur to Sukanto, Pratap got rid of his chase by giving the money received. Does Arjun succeed in this plan? Will Chhota Ganchi be able to complete the deal by handing over the opium consignment to Sukanto? Will Nabid be able to destroy Ganchi? Where does Tipu fit into the illegal opium business and does Lekhaji accept his love? The whole story and adventure of Gulabganj are hidden in these questions.
Guns and Gulaabs Review and Analysis
The special thing about Raj and DK is that they are not just filmmakers. He also loves the cinema; this love is visible in this entire series. There will be many references to the films of the 80-90s. There will be many references to Mithun and Amitabh Bachchan. ‘Deewar’ is a picture of Amitabh. In this, he has a 786 number badge. He is told that as long as you have this, no one can kill you. Something similar happens with Char Katt Atmaram as well. He also has a typical dialogue, If you want to see your daughter alive, then bring the goods behind the old factory. I like one more thing with Raj and DK, from beginning to end they do not take the content for granted. Its impression is visible in the last episode. Each character will get a different ending. Intermission also comes in writing. Even the end credits have gone through a lot of effort. In this also you can see the impression of nineties films. If you look carefully, a tribute has also been given to Satish Kaushik.
You will find the complete Tiyan-Panch of the eighties-nineties in Guns and Gulaabs. Like in the films of that era, there were gang wars, mafia on one side, and love stories on the other side. The same is the case here. While watching the series, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ will be remembered. Many characters may also look like that. One can remember the character of Adarsh Gaurav, JP Singh, son of Ramadhir Singh. Similarly, the character of Tipu can remind one of Faisal Khan. There is a glimpse of perpendicular and definite in the children’s track. Although all these characters have nothing to do with ‘Wasseypur’, just that vibe comes. The world of the 90s is in the series. In this, tribute has also been given to the films of that era, but in the midst of all this, Raj and DK along with Suman Kumar have left no stone unturned in the screenplay. It has been treated like a proper thriller.
It seems in many episodes, the story dragged on a bit. Its hinges could have been tightened further. But watching the seventh episode, this complaint also goes away. You can watch the remaining six episodes while waiting for this episode. Music played an important role in decorating the series. If the world of the eighties and nineties is to be created, then background music becomes very important. Aman Pant has done a wonderful job in this. Along with this, what a beautiful way Raj and DK have used the songs of that era. Pankaj Kumar’s cinematography is also very good, especially in the chase sequences. There are long long shots. There are a lot of wide-angle shots. Which I like very much. One thing in Pankaj’s cinematography is that along with good camerawork, he has also played a few games in lighting. Like: He has used shadow lighting very well in many places.
Rajkumar Rao is the hero of this series for me. Be it acting wise or looking at the importance of the story of Tipu’s character. Raj has done a very fine job. It’s a good thing with him, he plays any character on screen, so he assures that such characters must be there in the world. This is such a character. In my view, this is one of his best works. Could have said the best, but this much scope should be kept. Well, let me give an example of Raj’s good acting. Tipu kills one of the ruffians. And he is running away after hitting, and only then he remembers that his muffler was left near the dead body. Turning from Khatak, he picks up the muffler and then runs away. If it is improvised by Raj himself (which is more likely), then it is a wonderful thing. If it has been done on the advice of Raj and DK, then brother, this is a very careful direction.
Apart from Raj, Gulshan Devaiah played the character of Chaar Kat Atmaram in such a way that it seems only he could have played it. He will hardly have 8 to 10 dialogues in the entire picture. But he has played Atmaram in such a way that the director would not feel like speaking on the set. I am disappointed that he has got very little screen time. Dulquer Salmaan always does good acting. Here too he has done a great job in the role of Narcotics Officer Arjun. Perhaps as the character would have been written, he has brought out all the shades of this character in his body language as well. Adarsh Gaurav is a future star. He is going to get a lot of work after this series. His work in the role of Jugnu Ganchi is one in a million. Will talk about this in detail someday. Apart from this, all the actors, including Vipin Sharma have done a great job. TJ Bhanu has also come with a bang. For as long as Satish Kaushik comes in the frame, you come to know that a seasoned artist is in front of you.
The thrill of Guns and Gulaabs reaches its climax in the last episode Raat Baaki. The Seventh and Eighth Chapters are combined to form Aesopode Seven. It is the most extended episode one hour and 21 minutes and has many shocking twists and turns. The screenplay of the last episode is also in a non-linear format. The scenes keep going back in time for minutes or hours depending on the twist, so the duration of the episode doesn’t bother you. The stages in the screenplay have been crafted in such a way that the impression of the nineties is visible everywhere. Arjun listening to songs from a cassette. After getting bored of jhankar beats, we have to show the era by ordering film cassettes from the city. Nannu plays English songs on a tape recorder for writing love letters. The Campa Cola, the hairstyle, the breezy winter sweaters, the jackets, the t-shirts tucked inside baggy jeans… the decor department has done a commendable job in establishing the nineties vibe.
The feel of that period remains in the dialogues. Guns and Gulaabs, through the characters of school children, scrapes the memories of the generation that came of age in the 90s with the generation studying in class 10-12. One of the biggest highlights of Guns and Gulaabs is the portrayal of the characters and the character graph. In crafting every central character, he holds on to the shape given to him according to his character traits. Late Satish Kaushik’s character in the role of Senior Ganchi remains till the end but is active only in two episodes. Satish’s character successfully sets the backdrop of Guns and Gulaabs.
Guns and Gulaabs Review: The Last Words
If you are looking for a fast-paced, action-packed crime drama, then Guns and Gulaabs may not be the series for you. However, if you are a fan of crime comedies with dark humor and stylish visuals, then you may enjoy this series. If you like ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ style gangster movies with blood-splattering violence then this movie will appeal to you. Although The Family Man is not as good as Farzi, this series is welcome for its non-boring screenplay and guaranteed fun. The series has been released on Netflix in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam languages.
Guns and Gulaabs Review: Skillfully Blending Themes of Violence and Love - Filmyhype
Director: Raj & DK
Date Created: 2023-08-18 14:52
3.5
Pros
- Good performances by the cast
- Dark humor
- Stylish period setting
- Interesting premise
Cons
- Slow pace
- Predictable plot
- Some underdeveloped characters
