There are times when you walk into a movie with trepidation and that is true more so in the case of Anurag Kashyap. My past record with Dev D & No Smoking has been anything but great. So when it was time for Gulaal, I hoped and prayed for the record to change. Did it? Read on to find out!

The film at the outset looks like one revolving around college politics in the conservative Rajputana days of Jaipur. But as you delve further into Anurag’s beautiful scripting you realize there is so much more to it.

Gulaal begins with a young student called Dileep (Raj Singh Chaudhary) who comes to Jaipur to study. He is accompanied by his faithful servant Bhanwar (Mukesh Bhatt). Here the innocent Dileep meets a variety of “characters” like Rananjay Singh “Ransa” (Abhimanyu Singh) who is the biggest rebel of the lot. He doesn’t believe in customs and traditions and always chooses the road less traveled. On the other hand you have the loud, powerful and radical Dukey Bana (Kay Kay Menon) who has another hidden agenda in his mind. Along the road Dileep also meets Jadwal (Pankaj Jha), Anuja (Jesse Randhawa) and Kiran (Ayesha Mohan).

The film leads to college elections where the big fight is set between Ransa and Kiran. Ransa is basically the front for Dukey Bana and his ideologies. Both Kiran and Ransa want the General Secretary’s post but at what cost. When things get a little too hot to handle, Ransa is made to back out. Eventually this leads to his murder by Karan (Kiran's brother and Ransa’s illegitimate sibling). Next thing you know the young Dileep is compelled to contest elections in Ransa’s place and made to win.

Having lost the elections, Kiran tries to get close to Dileep and showers him with a whole lot of love and affection. Soon enough Dileep gets very close to Kiran but begins to distance himself from all those who matter to him. But everything is not what it seems.

Dileep realizes that he is being used by Kiran for her political ambitions and by Dukey for his own bigger political ambitions for the region. Will Dileep be able to save himself or is it too late? That’s what the rest of the film is all about.

In terms of acting, Kay Kay Menon is brilliant. As can be expected. He leaves you spellbound not only by his performance but with a big question as to why this actor hasn’t been tapped by big film makers enough! Ayesha Mohan, Aditya Srivastav, Piyush Mishra, Raj Singh Chaudhary , Abhimanyu Singh, Deepak Dobriyal all give great performances. They fit the role to tee and it almost looks like Anurag Kashyap wrote each of these roles keeping them in mind.

Speaking of Anurag, hats off to him for this one. The script, direction and the over all execution is done very well. Anurag also deserves mention for the authenticity in the script. The dialect, the mannerisms and the complete feel of the film has been given a lot of attention and that shows. While there are certain aspects that seem over the top, none of them want to make you want to walk out of the theatre.

In fact Gulaal makes you want to come back… for Anurag Kashyap's next film!


Harshita Kohli/Hill Road Media