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On February 14, 2019, Valentine's Day, the hip-hop music-related film "Gully Boy" was released in India. This movie can be called the Indian version of "8 Miles" - "8 Miles (8 Miles)" is an American hip-hop music film masterpiece.
Maybe some friends don't know "8 Miles" very well. Click on the blackboard to highlight the key points here for a brief introduction. "8 Miles" is a semi-autobiographical film of American hip-hop star Eminem (Amy Hamm), and co-starred by him and some hip-hop stars. It tells about part of his experience on the road to hip-hop, mainly difficulties and troubles. "8 Miles" is not only a leader in American hip-hop movies, but also a model of rap music in the world.
Therefore, "Gully Boy" can only be said to be close to "8 Miles" in terms of subject matter or form, but not comparable in terms of connotation. As a film about the fortune of an Indian hip-hop singer, "Gully Boy" has been widely acclaimed after its release. Currently, the movie has a rating of 8.6 out of 10 on IMDB, but the number of ratings is relatively small.
"Gully Boy" is directed by Zoya Akhtar, who won the Indian Cinema Audience Award for Best Director in 2011 for "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (Life Never Comes Again)". Zoya made her debut in 2009 by directing "Lucky By Chance".
The male lead is played by Ranveer Singh. Ranveer is a famous Indian actor. In 2010, he made his debut by starring in "Band Baaja Baaraat (Wedding Planner)" and won the Indian Film Audience Award for Best Male Newcomer. In 2016, he won the Indian Film Audience Award for Best Actor for his work "Bajirao Mastani (The Empire)".
The heroine is played by Alia Bhatt. Alia was born into a famous Bollywood acting family. Dad is a well-known director, producer and screenwriter Mahesh Bhatt. Mom is actor and director Soni Razdan. Uncle Mukesh Bhatt (Mukesh Bhatt) is also a producer. Among the cousins are actor Emran Hashmi and director Mohit Suri.
"Gully Boy" tells the story of a 22-year-old young man who was born in a slum in Mumbai, India. Instead of taking the white-collar road expected by his father, he took the road of hip-hop star and gained true love at the same time.
In terms of storytelling, such a plot is inevitably a bit cliché to the audience. After all, there are countless plots in movies and TV series about disobeying their parents and then doing what they like and harvesting love at the same time. However, "Gully Boy (Gulley Boy)", as a rare hip-hop music theme in Indian movies, still created a distinctive image of a hip-hop singer.
The image of common hip-hop male singers usually has a certain grassy air, and most of the dresses are not mainstream aesthetics. Some male hip-hop singers may be somewhat macho in terms of image, and there are not a few male hip-hop singers who are misogynistic. The famous American rapper Eminem mentioned above is one of them. However, "Gully Boy" portrays a rapper who works hard but lacks self-confidence, dressed as an urban hipster type. From this point of view, although the story of "Gully Boy" is old-fashioned, it is still innovative in character creation.
"Gully Boy" pays tribute to Naezy & Divine, a local Indian rapper group from Mumbai. The group became popular with a hymn dedicated to Mumbai, "Mere Gully Mein", leaving their native Mumbai slums and moving towards the pinnacle of life.
A few days ago, at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival, "Gully Boy" also entered the special screening unit. However, there is still no release information for the film in China. I hope to have the opportunity to introduce it, and everyone can enjoy the hip-hop style of India on the big screen.
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