Gulaal — Anurag isn’t God, he ain’t Godard either
iView Author: Salik Shah (New Delhi, India)
Email: withheld
Gulaal — Anurag isn’t God, he ain’t Godard either
Everyone is fighting his own battle. The world is selfish. I got it. Well, how was the film? Did I like it? A 15-minute conversation with the auto wala who dropped me home was better than the film. Refreshing. While I walked toward my home after getting off the auto, I thought every character is detailed. But I’m still not satisfied with the film.
Why am I complaining? Suddenly I recalled the timing of Khalid Mohamed’s write up on woman’s film. Well, in this film you got to see powerful, revolutionary roles for women. You got to see stellar performance. You got to see wonderful mujras — very innovative lyrics and effective story-telling. But anyone could do this. I expected the color of Gulaal to remain on my face for days. But here I am, disappointed for no reason whatsoever, really?
My problem is with the story. I really need a story. A story that moves me. Here Mr Kashyap doesn’t even bother to thrill us with some war. Who can blame him? I didn’t like Dilip, he’s of no use. But this is a period film right? A period film done in a new way, you mean? Whatever, I don’t care. Ok, I’m wise enough to guess that to Madhuri the mujra wali told Dilip about Kiran’s infidelity to get Duki Bana back? I am not suggesting a war scene, what am saying is this movie tries to show everybody and that’s why the power of the whole movie isn’t as effective as it could be. Everybody’s doing everything for some damn good/bad reason. Don’t state the obvious.
Oh, oh, it was delayed for three years! There’s the catch. Surely, the boy has grown up.
I can’t understand why hero-worshipping is going on here. ‘Gulaal-Indian cinema is freed.’ ‘Why Gulaal is my favorite Anurag Kashyap movie.’ ‘Gulaal : A movie par excellence.’
STOP IT. Please, stop it.
The most brilliant scene in the movie was the last minute. The tears rolling down on Kiran’s cheek. It meant many thing. But while trying to do justice with character, the scriptwriter/director has done injustice to his audience. I haven’t read those reviews, I wanted to see the movie first.
I’m not judging the movie but am questioning my belief: Each time I see a Anurag Kashyap, it surprises me, impresses me! No, this is just another film. But a good film, no doubt. But this is neither excellent nor Anurag Kashyap at his best. Ask him. His most angry film has made me even more angry.
They have given this movie four-five stars, haven’t they? Those film critics/analysts/magazines/newspapers/etc/etc! Oh, poor Madhuri (Mahi Gill). I wish I could see more of her. She ended up being ‘used.’ The taxi scene where she asks ‘Do I look like Tabu?’ wasn’t a time for humor. It killed the scene. There were so many unnecessary scenes like the one when Madhuri is swearing at Duki Bana after he goes out with Kiran. They way it was shown makes me think if that was a way to do it, we could have done without it. Now guys don’t take this as a ‘mutual-criticism’ point. I’m just saying what I felt.
The anger, the frustration that leads Duki Bana to run after even the ones he loves is not pleasant. But then, the film tried to show us Duki is just helpless by his nature, he is equally sad, a slave to his anger and the demon between his legs! Ok, I give him my sympathy. But I think sympathy is what the writer wanted desperately. Glorifying/dramatizing such Rajputana acts didn’t impress me. What was the point? I wasn’t there to do a character study of Duki Bana, was I?
And that mad man, that Dilip Singh, oh man, he just ruined the film the moment his rajput blood actually boiled. This man’s suicide mission was the film’s suicide. Is this a TV serial? A horror movie in installments?
Am I talking sense folks? I don’t know. I’m just not happy with the film. I should check my expectations. Anurag isn’t God, he ain’t Godard either.
Tags: Anurag Kashyap, Ayesha Mohan, Godard, Gulaaal, Mahie Gill, piyush mishra
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
see it again.. thats all i can say .. i dont know whats the problem with you but i guess bollywood is evolving this movie is one which i would rate as one of the best i have ever seen.. the first five minutes… i have never remembered any hindi movie except black friday which has ket me engrossed so much as gulaal did…and yes if anyone could do it… they wouldve done it… its AK who has done it and he deserves all the credit… a film well made.. very well made indeed.. the film was not only about duki bana all the actors had their chance and each character was well thought out and presented.. so dont even try to do a character sketch of duki bana… it would be better if u think about the ardh naari guy… that would be interesting :P
Gulaal is a testament of the fact that Anurag Kashyap is a wonderful writer and a good storyteller. An archetype of the “ New Tradition of Quality filmmaker” slightly deviant from our “Cinema of Papa” films.
Though, like you said, it does not make him God or Godard.
I totally agree with this article.
I found Gulaal to be a good film but that’s about it.Not Brilliant,Not par Excellence,but just good.
It had the potential to become a classic, but as with Dev.D anurag for some reason just loses the plot somewhere in the 2nd half.I absolutely loved the performances of all the actors and the dialogues.They were simply brilliant and original.
But in the end,it was a half-baked film which could have been so much more.Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi was a complete film,this could have been at par with it but alas.
Gulal is an amazing outstanding path breaking film.
Well, Your article inspired me to watch the movie, just to know the fact, where it could have go wrong. Interestingly, I did not see any of the flaws what you have mentioned here. I am very well aware thats it is your personal view point. When you talk about Mahie Gill, it shows her insecurity in that scene for which she clings on to Dukey Bana and ask that question of Tabu. But we have a range of emotions…So when she think of being used she starts swearing…was it too difficult to decipher.
Secondly, Dukey Bana was not sad persona, he was just trying to not to repeat what his forefathers have done….
Thirdly, Dileep Singh end (presenting an outsider view), yes it could have been polished a bit….but you have to pay the price for what mistakes what you have made by the time you realized that those were a mistake, he is gone.
Anyways please post a warning of a spoiler… Being a rajput after a long time it was nice to see a Rajput movie with not just the khama ghani …but the real one. So I definitely enjoyed it and still thinks ANURAG IS THE BEST AND GULAL IS EXCELLENT…..
1) Hero-worship makes me uncomfortable too. And it’s ultimately bad for the “hero” as well.
2) Because I haven’t seen it yet, I’m not going to say anything about Gulaal itself.
3) My point of contention is with the basic premise of your complaint — that you “really need a story”. I can’t help but refer you back to Dibakar Banerjee’s excellent point about the audience needing an “emotional cumshot” every ten minutes. Have a listen: http://passionforcinema.com/dibakar-unplugged/
Basically, a good film doesn’t necessarily have to be all about a gratifying plotline. If that’s what makes or breaks a film for you, then you’re missing some of the best bits in a lot of very good films.
Anybody could do it??…who?…if so why have they not done it so far?…
No I am not saying you don’t have a point…but this sentence was a bit exaggerated…seemed like you just said it for the sake of fortifying your argument…
@ Aarshin
I loved both the characters: Ardh nari and the Imagine-baba. They were terrefic. But I didn’t bother to decipher Ardh nari because it’s another metaphor which will make sense personally some other day. I take experience from my life to understand what I can. And yeah, I’ll watch this again. I recall watching Parineeta and returning the theatre again the next morning, it was awesome. The subtlety really made it worthwhile. But here you’ve even cooks explaining you the plot, assisting you not to think on your own. I hate that. It worked in explaining the money metaphor at the end in Delhi 6, but the sole purpose of Delhi 6 was to give a message. I don’t think Anurag is trying to give a REAL message from this work other than telling a story (or too many stories).
Like @Deepa pointed out: Dilip Singh could have been far better. Anurag had a chance to make the movie his best. I can bet on that. If Anurag had only given more time to Dilip, he would have stole the limelight. There’s where I see a lot of potential. Then, the character of Anuja… There were so many opportunities to make this film remarkable, a classic or whatever you call it- DIFFERENT.
@ Neeraj, yes it could have felt complete if we were given a chance to think or concentrate on one or two characters or the film had another extra hour or so!
@Shruti, thank you for the link. I really see a way to make this movie even better than this. I mean it’s just another HINDI movie. It could have a global appeal, it’d have created a legacy, a permanent Gulaal in our hearts, had it been done in a more caring and delicate manner. The film could have been more kind to Dilip and Anuja, even if the world was not. There, we could have a masterpiece. I didn’t go to the theatre to find flaws, (after Dev D., that’s an impression) but to be gratified, really. Watch it, it’s a good film anyway. I’ll also watch it again, I really think it can cheer me up this time
@ Debojit, Raj, ‘I’m a big AK fan,’ I told my friends before going out to watch the film. I am still one.
typo: not money metaphor
it’s monkey metaphor stupid
@Salik
I fully agree with you man ,disappointed with the movie
@Shruti
Dibakar ain’t God either ,yes Indian audiences constantly expect twists and turns but Shawshank is also a classic and there ain’t not cumshot every five minutes ,the premise of a film is that you compress a day or year of story into 2 hours and hence you got to have a story ,you can’t just expect to show anything and then blame the audiences.
For example where was the intensity of the movie after Ranasa was dumped off ,where was the politics ,the script took a U-turn and went straight into the personal lives of the characters perhaps focussing too much on it, plus everytime the tempo of the movie went up you had some supposed to be ironic ,subtle comic scene right in the middle of it…..didn’t introduce any irony but it ruined the tempo of the story.
And where are the MP’s and MLA’s ,what happened to them, no politics is complete without them ,and dumping off a Police Inspector ain’t so easy ,I (have seen a few cases myself ),there is always a politician or a neta or a senior officer involved, there ain’t any here.
Plus running a dissident underground campaign ain’t so easy in India ,even though it’s India ,where is the system ,the police crackdown etc etc….
The list is long and I could go on and on…overall there are many loopholes .Let’s see what reaction this movie gets…
Dude… if you were the director what would you change to make it better? If you have solid answers and if people endorse them… then I would assume you have a point… else sorry… I watched the movie twice and its worth the 400 spent… the beauty of the director is that he could do justice to so many roles
@ jitaditya
i think i’d like to get the answer from Anurag… i am serious dude, really serious… i said it because i meant it.
@ Shruti, if you meant i was looking for an ‘emotional cumshot!’ like the one Dibaker is saying, i am afraid that’s not my point…
@ and Cherish, if i were the director for this film, i’d have asked the script writer (AK) to concentrate on politics, Rajputana cause, Anuja and Dilip more than Duki Bana. But this is again subjective. Perhaps, Anurag wanted to stick to the cause, so Duki got more shots. But I would stick to my story which could have helped me explore the characters where I can see more potential, where I got more creative freedom, where I have a chance to really break away from the tradition, just like Dev D.
Loved the movie, could somebody please explain me two characters.
1) The lady who was locked in the dark room. She was a teacher than why was she locked inside
2) the ardhnari ???
@ Vineet, yes Ransa was worth the moolah… loved him… another powerful character which could have made the impact of the film ‘different’…
God save you, you have posted against a film on a forum that is full of AK’s chamchas. He makes a crappy film, but everyone here will write only good things about his films. I actually came to this site after seeing DevD and found everyone saying only good things about the film. It was utter crap to me, as I am sure many others found it to be…but on PFC, no one can dare to say anything against their GURU D(as Anurag is apparently called).
oh well…there is a reason his films dont work.
Hmm first I need to ask this TO AK sir what was that?After Dev-D I was expecting a real good movie and its not my fault that i had huge expectations from Gulaal.when i was Watching Dev-D they showed the trailer in between the movie and I was so impressed with it the trailer was damn good So i kept waiting for Gulaal But here I am with my face coated with Gulaal which is certainly not LAAL it’s black……. :P
hmm now What was the movie about?Can anybody tell me What Exactly Dilip was trying to do? The character is so weak so dumb that he gets used by Kiran so easily.but even then the guy gets tremendous power in the end and he goes on Killing spree.What was that? was it Dilip’s ERA was it Dilip’s style to end the movie or was it Dilip’s dream coz that is certainly not the kind of ending we should after building the movie on such a strong and lentghy plot?
Dont u guys think That Piyush Mishra was Under Utilized ?
I have a lot to write but naah I have wasted enough time on the movie…..
acc to me the movie is a perfect example for those who like and Worship AK blindly that even he can disappoint us sometimes though.
……..
@Cherish
If you have seen Hazaaron ….you will know how politics in India works….that’s a true blue political film…not Gulaal….
Whats AK’s next?? ..is Paanch releasing??
@vineet…
come to UP man…. u will see dis kinda student politics favored by BAHUBALIs of dat region and dat role was played by DUKYBANA…so pls update ur facts…the movie was juss strictly based on university politics which ultimately had a connection wid RAJPUATANA…
Hi Neha…
what was the last film u liked?
pleas dont compare the movie with Hazaaron khwaishe ………….
Lets just talk abt gulaal….:)
Waiting for Paanch anyways………..
I have seen Hazaron khwaishe aisi… but found Gulaal better (but thats my personal take). The idea of a good film maker is to provoke the audience rather than giving a solution (because there isn’t any solution). Educating ‘more’ people about reality is the solution. And Gulaal’s fictional story is far from true. It was meant to show the current rotten state of political system. And regarding people’s attitude that PFC is a place where AK is revered no matter what…I beg to differ…its a forum where ‘like’ minded people meet…share their thoughts… I don’t know anybody by name or face…. but I like the thoughts of writers in this forum (because my thoughts are similar to those)… so am hooked to this site…
Anurag Kashyap hug deta hai end mein hamesha..ya maybe its the long delay in the movie, but again Dev d was screwed up in the second half.Raja chaudhary was the biggest “liability” of the movie.. hated every scene where he was present..
Hi,
Even I was not entirely happy with the movie. Lots of things are good about it. but still it does leave you unsatisfied. I felt it tries to pack in too much of things. One cant possibly take in and comprehend what all is going on while watching it live on screen. Its another thing that you later sit and diagnose and dissect the Why’s and How’s with multiple viewings and explore all the layers to it. But it should obviously be working on the top most layer so to speak, which is where this movie is lacking. I can imagine it must have had a very strong and full proof script on paper. It could have been a great novel. But sadly.. it is not so great a movie it could have been.
I am not sure but it seems that the hate for weak character generally translates to hate for the actor. I think Raja Singh did a decent job as Dileep.
@Preeti
No need to come to UP ,college politics is the same everywhere in India…..whether it’s UP or West Bengal ,and existing political parties play a big role in that ,plus there are bureaucrats ,businessmen ,policemen ,bahubalis and everyone ,it’s not isolated or anything……
I loved the first half of Gulaal exactly because of this reason ..it had some truth in it ,the ragging ,the intensity of ransa ,the politics but everything died after first half …..Duke Bana seems so isolated from the system that it’s hard to believe that he is really powerful ,you can say that AK didn’t show the whole picture ,the involvement of politicians and officials …and everything ,but without that the thing doesn’t look real at all.
To sum up I would say that I have seen enuf secessionist politics in the North East and heard more about Naxalbari from my uncles and aunts…..and one thing is amply clear that “bagavat chedna koi bachho ka khel nahi hai” as shown in Gulaal…..
@Aarshin
havnt seen Gulaal so cant comment about it. but honestly i didnt like Black at all. for me it was a noise-fest. a film about a deaf, mute and blind girl has too much noise (dialogues and BG score both)and too many colors. technically it may be brilliant film but i was expecting some silence and breathing space to let the pain and sufering of characters seep into me. ABs character was worst except the last scene where he is walking in big big grey hall. will get back once i see Gulaal.
dont know what u are trying to say in this article.. I concede, editing left much to be desired but overall the movie was brilliant to say the least. I will put it above Hazaron.. while HKA had an impact only towards the end and dragged in the middle portions, Gulaal was impactful thoughout.
It was a good film but could have been really excellent. The positives have been eloquently elaborated in other posts but on the negatives:
- the film meanders in between. 30 minutes before interval and the 30 minutes after could have been tightened and boiled down to about 20 mins
- Dilip’s character is just not convincing. he does not grow with the plot and doesn’t convincingly bring about and show his eventual transformation into a avenging rampaging manic.
On all other fronts the film was really good. I think if these two aspects were tightened the film could have been spectacular.
When some one calls a movie great, there are hundred other waiting to pass their judgement, micro analysis and all that follows.
Gulaal might not be an absolute great movie… its like a costly restaurant ka khana after your hostel meal… But the five star ka khana abhi baak hain .. i guess..
@Sumeet .. Raja was perfect..in fact too perfect..I think he took the “pawn in the hands of powerful people” brief too seriously and played his part as a Robot with an IQ and common sense of a toddler.. No offense to the actor but I’m a half rajput and have seen enough of those “rassi jal gayi par bal nahi gaya” types ex royals..their characters in Gulaal are almost perfectly etched..small time poltus but grand ambitions and too much self esteem.. but its the outsider Raja character who screws up..what drives him..”Love”??..how much screen space he share with Ayesha..we dont know why he is too attached to her..if Gulal is a love story then where was it on the screen..The transformation which forces him to go on a killing spree was either too profound or too ridiculous for me to digest..the character is weak which its supposed to be but was it supposed to be an idiot asshole too..
Well, guys, please, let’s not compare Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi with Gulaal…. Some movies work without or with minimal dialogues, we are capable of feeling/seeing things, I don’t think you have to explain/understand everything…
@ abhishek, yes, it might have worked on paper, but it lost its nuances during the filmmaking…
@neha, had that (pfc to air only pro-AK views) been the case, this article and your comment – both could have been left out by the moderator…same was not done to Khaled Mohammed’s viewpoints either…i can give you many more examples…need i say anything more in response to wat you have said?
@neha, also looking frwrd to your reply to razamuraad’s query…
@Praneet
good point man ,three nights and four fucks later our hero Dileep is madly besotted with Neha ,I thought love takes more time…..
@Pardon ,got the name of the girl wrong…..
sorry got the name of the girl wrong
Frankly speaking, I was quite tired of seeing one after another article gushing about AK and Gulaal. More on AK than Gulaal. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against AK. I am fan of him. And I haven’nt seen Gullal yet. So nothing for or against the film. But I wanted to see at least one article which looks at the film from a more critical POV. Surely there will be flaws in Gulaal. And surely there are people who notices that. But maybe those people do not come to PFC. whatever.
So I was quite happy to see this write-up. “Finally…” I said. And then the disappointment.
I am trying to find what the author finds wrong in the film. And i’m still trying. Yeah, I get that he didn’t like the film. It didn’t work for him. But a little bit of analysis, insight and little less of ‘emotional outburst’ wouldn’t have hurt I guess.
I totally agree with Saleek i had exactly the same feeling the treatment performance all were excellent but somehow the movies cannot me slotted as Anurags best or as on the classics though it path breaking and worth a watch for sure,,,i guess we gotta come of the ANURAG OBSESSION to give a n honest opinion….
Lots of contunuity lapses!!! are vry apparent one scene being when KKs charcter calls for RC n next scene he RC is shown being reprimanded by him to give tickets to Kiran—-but very next scene the night one he ask him where were u i had called in the morning!!!?????hope m right with my observation..
@ avik, am sorry dude.. i tried to be very critical and to the point in my Dev D review, and it didn’t get publish… i don’t know whether i had to come above my standards or below them to get published on PFC…
Have a look:
http://kathmanduspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/02/defending-artist-as-young-man-dev-d.html
http://kathmanduspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/02/real-story-behind-dev-d.html
and well, read what other people are saying on the post, you’ll get that gyan
but i didn’t get what HS meant… and who Saleek is 
We are all evolving…
Anurag as a writer/director.
We as an audience.
Hope it’s all for a greater good.
Gulaal is a piece of art (i wouldn’t call it a movie). And its upto each of us to interpret (there is no one universally accepted way) and thats the beauty of the script.
Salik – “I can’t understand why hero-worshipping is going on here. ‘Gulaal-Indian cinema is freed.’ ‘Why Gulaal is my favorite Anurag Kashyap movie.’ ‘Gulaal : A movie par excellence.’”
This was my cumshot of article.
Infact I see Anurag Kashyap himself being Ransa and Deelip….mishmashed together…..a desparate nation looking for a hero….an imagination deprived industry wanting a rebel…a young boy naive and probably talented screams out loud….wow he is our hero….a man mad enough to cry his lungs out…..a man who talks about being a rebel..sometimes hiding and in serious self doubt wanting to know what he is….what is he upto….what is he offering…
People need someone to look upto who can be their hero..cause we all love to look at the stage comfortably seated in the dark to applaud and be entertained…GO ANURAG GO we scream…..but not one taking that step to get on to the stage…
Both those who hero-worship and those who claim he is not big shake…
Till that happens….we will be calling out to people to free indian cinema…..latch on to anything that seems interesting….or which has just about crossed the line…
Why Anurag Kashyap made his mark is….he dared…..which most can just talk about.
Hail him for that….maybe that we all have done for too long….now is the time to hail a great film….whenever it arrives…
I still don’t know why Duki bana killed ghantod, or whatever that guy was killed who rags dilip and ransa.
and why did jesse Randhawa comes to dilip’s place to stay? We are talking about a small town here and a girl and a boy living platonically?
And how does Kiran smokes in a tea shop or college canteen? In a small town???? C’mon.
ANd the ulitmate question. Why did Kiran have to sleep with Dilip to get to Dukki bana. She reaches without any help from Dilip. Her brother takes her to him. He could’ve done it much earlier.
AK is an auteur. but its high time, he became a better writer.
@amit i mean one possibly can not compare hazaroan to gulaal i think HKA has a much better story telling and the authencity of the movie is the real period shown in HKA which sticks to its era.gulaal for that matter has shown none the politics is missing ,the royalty is missing and also the power.it may seem impactful only because if one sees it by parts that is few seen do come out strongly but as a whole it does not co relate too well
Who said Anurag was God ??
Guys, I think most of you are taking a storyteller too seriously..he’s just presented you a story in whatever form, see it judge it, like it, dislike it and chill..
Guys who are calling PFC his chamchas..write a post, get your angst out there. The forum is just waiting for you.
Yes, HKA was a better film and even Kashyap would readily agree to that.
boy another one of those, ‘i don’t like it because you like it’ people
you should have seen ‘Jai-Veeru’ instead buddy…..you wouldn’t need to do ‘character studies’, as you call them, while watching that film…..
I saw the film..the only points where i was enthralled by the films were when the songs started..where i saw i great camera movement. I think aspects other than the direction for this film were very good..good camera..good music..bhayanak lyrics..mindblowing acting..extreme styling..but it somehow confusing when script and direction is concerned..just because of KayKay’s acting his character becomes as convincing as it was..otherwise it was very aimless character..i liked Raja Chaoudhary in the film..but in the second half he killed himself(considering he is the co-writer) i think this film actually showed the limits of Mahie Gill..she wasn’t convincing and was always Paro..Abhimanyu singh was mindblowing..the only suljha hua and convincing character..
I think Piyush Mishra was the only character who followed the path what the film was supposed to follow..if only the others kept their sanity too!
I didn’t like the film..the second half was a disaster..I wanted to like the film but i didn’t. its a mess.
pity me because i loved gulaal !!
@vineet…
i totally agree…but to sum up everything in those 2 and half hrs…is quite difficult…whthr u accept it or nt …characterisation of movie was good and screenplay had some let downs as d guy like DUKEY BANA got trapped in net of of d dat gal… dat was nt acceptable…but according to me movie was highly enjoyable and quite close to reality compared to sm so called BLOCKBUSTERS like GHAJINI or RNBDJ…
I agree with this article as far as the film is concerned but no I havent ‘lost faith’ in Anurag Kashyap a bit..its a good film anyway but yes not “great” or “path breaking”..its half baked..acc to me he goes off the track in the second half..Raja Choudhary didnt inspire any kinda emotion in me as a viewer..was he tryin to underplay too much??..I dnt know but he didnt work fr me & he was the playing the ‘protagonist’..but at least he tried to be sincere..all the best brother..Kay Kay(in 1st half),Abhimanyu(Ransa),Deepak Dobriyal & Piyush Misra(for his role,lyrics & music) were the high points for me..also I think the songs were ahead of movie in terms of philosophy/idea & were not used as well as it shud/cud hv been..I wud like to know if Anurag rewrote the story/screenplay after the soundtrack was done..if not I think it shud hv been done..I had more expectations from Gulaal than I had from Dev.D..I wont use the word dissapointed but I was not moved enough after comin out of the theatre…as for the statement – ‘Anurag isn’t God, he ain’t Godard either’..I know what r u implying & Im nt takin it literally…for me Anurag Kashyap is a filmmaker who is way ahead in terms of his approach & thought in filmmaking than most of Hindi film industry’s filmmakers..Dev.D remains my personal favorite..Im eagerly waiting for Paanch coz as far as I know this was his first feature film as a director..Im curious to see what wud the first film of Anurag Kashyap be like..
@Shruti
I hv heard the ‘Dibakar Unplugged’ interview..I think as far as ‘emotional cumshot’ is concerned to each his own..I got my ‘emotional cumshots’ in Oye Lucky which many(as told my Dibakar)..I got them in Dev.D which many didnt..for me ‘emotional cumshot’ is not necessarily what Im experiencing while watching the movie but also the effect that remains long after u hv left the theatre..cinema is all about ‘emotional cumshots’..its a very subjective thing..no one definition can explain how film works or shud work..
Anyway ALL THE BEST to Anurag for the release of Paanch..wud like to know which film is he taking up next..is it Bombay Velvet or Happy Ending as reported by some of media sources??..and when is Mumbai Cutting coming out??..good luck
@Cherish
There is this word called “Pseudo Intellectual”. Try finding its meaning in the dictionary. If you can’t understand, don’t worry, because that is what you exactly are?
Gulaal, piece of art? seriously? what was the only other movie you saw? DDLJ?? Or are you 14?
@Salik,
Well may be you didn’t put your point across in the best way possible, but I can understand what you are trying to say here.
One thing, this mad worship is a bad thing. It will make Anurag Kashyap believe that he made a perfect movie which is fa from the truth. Both Dev D and Gulaal have lost path somewhere.
When I saw Black Friday, I really felt that we are looking at some extraordinary talent waiting to explode. And that my friends is not happening. I am disappointed. I’ve not lost hope though.
@Vishal Chalchitra, Dude, no one would have analysed it so much had it not been an AK film. Only because people know he can make good movies, they dissect them. That is how we can help his cause. Otherwise you could have watched any other movie that rolls out every friday.
This whole crap about Indian cinema being freed is the very example of how hypocrytical we can get. There have been good movies coming from the 1950s and till date, I don’t see a movie which is 1/10th that of Pather Panchali.
Let us not call a movie cult because it is a few notches better than crap dolled out to us every other friday. Lets talk of Cinema per se.
@Dang
“…lets talk abt Cinema per se” – well said bro!
my sentiments exactly.it is a good movie, yes. however we have seen better movies on campus politics (Haasil) and on revolutionary ideals (Hazaaron). AK is not god. NOT YET. and by putting him on a pedastal, we might just drive him down the same path as RGV
Who is Godard?
@ Tushar ‘Who is Godard?’
I thought about it a long time ago. I think I have an answer:
http://kathmanduspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/07/breathless-1960.html
@SALIK
U R “THE” MAN!! 111% true!! Agree with you!
Jean-Luc Godard
@Dang…
dude…you opened my eyes…thanks a lot… hope I get enlightened by people like you…
but you mentioning what other movies..DDLJ? wasn’t necessary I guess… you may be the Einstein of our century but you can’t make fun dude… hope you look for the word discussion in the dictionary…
Guys, dont get carried away. Gulaal is a great entertainer, which also happens to be much more refreshing than the rest of the mainstream movies, that has heavy starcasts and lotsa dough. Simple enough!
Then again we`ll find out in the forthcoming years if Jean-Luc had a daddy named AK ;-) 
On a personal note, AK has been doing promising stuffs for a long time now and we shall appreciate his work and hope for the better. Bury the hatred dudes. :grin:
@Salik
Gulaal is not film noir(though close enough) but Im glad it is doing better than Dostana(2008) at the BO. Maybe even more than Breathless
Peace
when people say there was no story in the movie, i dont understand what they are talking about.
what kind of story are you looking for in gulaal.
i can accept the fact that u dint like the movie but the point that it dint have a story is pretty pointless in itself. similar stuff happened with delhi 6 which was a brilliant movie.
this movies depict our lives. thats how life is.
it does not have any conclusion.
there is no full circle in real life.
its just a long road.
u need to watch it again to understand it.
to understand the characters.
to understand the metaphors.
@ vineet
if you have’nt got it yet let me tell you,
this movie was not about MPs and MLAs.
it was about rajputana which is not a political party which contests in election.
its a revolutionary party which is fighting against the MPs and MLAs.
Ransa’s death was treated in the best way possible
cos in college politics thats how it happens. it does not become a national issue.
@ salik
‘if i were the director for this film, i’d have asked the script writer (AK) to concentrate on politics, Rajputana cause, Anuja and Dilip more than Duki Bana.’
thank god you are not the director of this film.
you have not understood it.
the film was about rajputana and not some cheesy anuja-dilip lovestory.
@neha
if you dont have anything constructive to say, negative or positive, dont even bother to open this site.
@ preeti
‘movie was juss strictly based on university politics which ultimately had a connection wid RAJPUATANA…’
totally agree with you.
@ pahariya
u are a funny guy indeed.
“My problem is with the story. I really need a story. A story that moves me.”
- There is a story. You havent watched the movie carefully enough.
It is not the story of the preparation for a revolution, it is not the story of Duki Bana, nor of Madhuri, nor of Rajputana, nor of the insipid student’s transformation to a sniper attacker, it is not a moral lesson that those who live by the sword will die by the sword.
It is, on the contrary, from the first till the last scene the story of two bastards who will do whatever it takes to reach a level of honour, prestige and respect and if that can be done only through murders, pimping of a bastard sister by a bastard brother, prostituting of herself for a GS post in the college or an entrance into the regality of Duki Bana’s fortress, or by money and power mongering, so be it.
# Your statement “The taxi scene where she asks ‘Do I look like Tabu?’ wasn’t a time for humor. It killed the scene” has been responded to by another commenter Ms.Deepa quite correctly as an indicator of Madhuri’s insecurity.
Madhuri’s character sketch is such that that it is always interwoven with a sense of the nonsensical, foolish, ignorant vanity, and of course that of a ridiculousness. Her height to any sense of self esteem is only her resemblance to the actress Tabu, and the fact that Diki Bana has made her his chosen mistress. And when he abandons her, she clings to her other source of pride and blurts out to Baatt in the height of her misery, “Don’t I look like Tabu? Then why did he leave me? In what way is she better than me?”
# The more I see Mr. Anurag Kashyap’s films, the trust in him as a filmmaker to make good, great and glorious films grows exponentially, of course, based on the knowledge of his past work, that I would go blindfolded to watch his future work ;-)!
Salik I think you have got a point here. I loved Dev D. I went first day first show and thoroughly enjoyed. He used music brilliantly, it just pulled the film quite some notches up. But there is a flaw in Anurag’s craft (barring Black Friday & No Smoking, which I haven’t seen). He operates on flimsy plot lines. Dev D had that – it seemed like he pulled up plots from newspaper headlines like C filmmakers do (Deshdrohi etc.) But still Dev D had lot of other qualities which could quite easily ride over this flaw. But Gulaal got stuck. If you think about it, Duku Bana, who is fighting to get back his state gets involved in college politics just for the festival money? Because he was never shown doing anything else other than siphoning off money. He killed people just because of this festival money? It sounds quite frivolous to me. In the second half, Raja takes on Abhimanyu’s road because he was spurned by his girl. But I never saw the relationship evolve to such an extent that it will have such an impact on Raja. he relationship looked flimsy. What about Jesse randhawa? Hers is a volatile entry and where does that character meander off to? Juxtaposing a shot of forlorn looking Jesse in the end is no solution. Piyush Mishra and Abhimanyu Singh shine and the music is fantastic again. But Anurag needs to take care of plots. It can develop into a major flaw.
@Sia Rtam and Shirin
You can interpret a scene individually in thousand ways…..what matters is how the scene connects with the entire movie ,and on that note I am sorry the movie loses point. Anurag tried to do too many things in one go and lost it.
As I mentioned in an earlier comment you can’t cut 100 frames from Godfather and another 100 from Shawshank and get a good movie.
That scene with Madhuri on bus may be a interpretation of her insecurities or some kind of irony/dark humour/subtelty but it was unnecessary at that moment.
And yes cinema like food is subjective so the matter ends here, but what amazes me is that there is a set of people in PFC who never criticize AK.
I am not accusing PFC of any bias because they do publish critique of Anurag’s work and allow people like me to comment.
I acknowledge the fact that Anurag is a filmi genius and deserves attention but some people go to ridiculous lengths to interpret scenes from AK’s movies like the one comment where someone compared Ranasa’s bullet ride with Che’s bike ride in Motorcycle Diaries.
Che went on a self-discovery trip across the America while Ranasa rides the bike because he has to commute.
The only similarity I could find was that both of them use old model bikes.
@Shirin
MP’s, MLA’s , bureaucrats aand police are an integral part of Indian politics, all I ask for is an honest portrayal of college politics that’s all.
Is Gulaal set in some phoren land that a film based on politics shouldn’t show even one of em ?
hmm,
im happy that films worth discussing are being made in india.
arent u ?
films that make feel strongly about something…strongly enough to leave whatever ure doing and post ure opinion on the blog,
good or bad,doesnt matter….although this is out of context,just felt like saying this after going thru the long discussion..
anyway,
Thanks. Sounds like a boring film maker to me.
@ vineet
agreed them being a part of indian politics.
agreed that anurag should have shown source of dukky banna’s powers.
but my point is that the movie is about rajputana and how they use student politics to prepare for their revolution.
How can an article on Gulaal miss out Piyush Mishra, Abhimanyu Singh and Deepak Dobriyal- the obvious positives of the movie ?
Though your article has some valid points, it’s too biased on digging on the negatives. If making movies like Gulaal was that easy, why we have to wait for AK to make it ?
You have your reasons to dislike it, i have mine to like it. Rest, time will tell.
Good to see a different take, though.
~Cheers!
~uh~
@ shirin
“‘if i were the director for this film, i’d have asked the script writer (AK) to concentrate on politics, Rajputana cause, Anuja and Dilip more than Duki Bana.’
thank god you are not the director of this film.
you have not understood it.”
well, when you quote people, please remember not to misuse the qoute out of context… if you had given my full quote, I’d have given you a thumbs up… kya karein, meri journalism ki bukhaar abhi utri nahi hai…
@ sita ram
dude, do you mean I was saying there is no story in this film? you’ve not read my write up, you’ve not gone through my comments, please do…
@ Tushar
You must have seen all Godard and know everything. I’m still learning my grammar and I don’t have any real Gurus, so I’ve to make every boring film makers interesting enough to learn. But you weren’t looking for an answer, if you “knew” the answer, I wonder what was the main reason for your response…. And I’m NOT talking about Godard here, I will some day and will love to hear from you then….
Wish me good luck…
I think the jusry is still out on AK being a good filmaker or not. I quite liked Dev D. (with reservations) but have not liked much else that he has made.
Gulaal was quite disappointing. It was a meandering muddle of a film. Except for one of two characters, most were quite badly written – not giving the performers much chance to do anything with them. The limp-noodle central character (Dileep) was so grossly under-developed that his transformation at the end seemed totally incredulous. The character of Duki Bana was extremely cliched – how many times have we seen this character and it was performed as usual by KK as well – every gesture, every action, every dialogue from this character was utterly predictable.
And the way women are treated in this film (and generally in AK’s films except for Mahi in Dev D) is deplorable. Yup, AK likes to have his women smoke, sleep around and have abortions. Fine, I get it that these women are modern but really – does he have any real respect for these women? Besides these token external signs of liberation – they are not real flesh and blood women at all. All three central women roles in this film are just horribly written characters. Less said about Duki Bana’s wife the better.
AK’s Black Friday was well-made, but kept reminding me of one of my favorite films (battle of algiers) and it paled in comparision. His No Smoking was self-indulgent crap. Dev D. dragged in the second half, mostly due to AK’s excesses, but overall I really liked it.
I am glad Gulaal was made before Dev D – otherwise I would have had no hope for this director. At least, with Dev D I think AK is going in the right direction and might, possibly, make a great film some day.
Cheers
@Anil
No doubts about AK’s capability ,he is a cinematic genius ,what he can do with 2 crores of budget ,most of the directors would find it hard to do in 20.
Just watch Black Friday and Dev D ,i guess you have already seen em more than that I can’t say anything .It’s the audience’s right to criticize but every film maker must be allowed some liberties ,after all you are making a film not defending the border or doing an operation.
@Anil
your comments on women smack of chauvinism, as far as the woman protagonists are concerned ,I feel AK treats them with far more or perhaps the highest respect that bollywood can provide.
actually we should let the fairer sex on this forum decide as to how they feel about the women protagonists in AK’s movie coz they are the better judge on this issue.
Also read Shoba De’s article on Dev D ,i think it came in India Today.
salik nice article maan…atleast someone has courage to write something like that…i was really getting bored of many people praising anurag kashyap..for making bad movie like gulal..i really don’t understand why people in PFC praise anurag kashyap..eventhough he makes movies like gulal and no smoking..
@Vineet
Here’s what I think. To be able to smoke, drink, and sleep around is NOT liberation. To have a power over some men to make them do whatever you want is NOT liberation. To be able to make your own decisions is. Sexual liberation is only a part of it.
Lets take Kiran’s character. Why is it that it’s her brother who keeps pushing her to go ahead and charm the men? If she is “liberated” why isn’t she allowed to make the choice? Why isn’t she shown choosing this path entirely on her own?
Besides if you have to resort to carnal instincts of the other sex to get your things down all the time, isn’t it an insult to your intelligence? Sleeping around for fun is different from sleeping around to get things done.
That said I agree that women in AK’s movies are portrayed far better than most Bollywood movies mostly because in his movies women’s characters are well-etched, they are outspoken and have more to do that wait for their knight in shining armour.
But his women are nowhere close to Geeta of HKA or even Sona of LBC.
Well, this is the movie which shows completely the attitude of director towards film making. AK in general loves to explore each character in the film and here he got that chance aplenty. Though he could have steered the direction and the story anywhere focusing more how rajputanas fight for their rights and all the rebellion part…but he chose to show us the character study of people in such a situation. The whole point according to me was to show that how the whole affair was worthless and only two people are sane enough to see it(dileep and prithvi bana).. regarding dileep’s character i think it was fully justified how he goes on that shooting spree as some guys cant just let go of the girls they love(which i have seen more often than not) and the sole blame he puts for his love lost was on the politics being played at helm of which was dukey bana whom he already thinks culprit of ruining his life….
@Cherish..sorry about the DDLJ thing..was a little heated up in the head. Sorry!
@Dang… no offense man…bade bade deshon mein aisi choti choti bathein hoti rehti hain :-)
@Vineet:
Sorry, just dismissing what I was trying to say by yelling chauvinism ain’t going to cut it.
Thanks to Neeraja for expanding on a part of what I was trying to say.
I am NOT comparing what I was saying with the way women are treated in the “mainstream” hindi films – most of them are made by boneheads, anyways. All I was saying was, for an otherwise seemingly intelligent filmaker, I expect some respect for the female characters in his films.
IMO, there is not a single female character in Gulaal that is not objectionable. I also had issues with the way Kalki’s character in Dev D. and Ayesha Takia’s character in No Smoking were written. The only well written female character in his films is Mahi Gill in Dev D – as good as any male character in any of his films.
Instead of a long post, I would say look at the way Ray, an Indian auteur for example, treated his female characters and you will know what I am trying to say. Those women were strong independent individuals.
Bottom line – I really don’t think it is worth investing the time and energy discussing a mediocrity like Gulaal so much. Maybe, if AK does make a great film in the future, it might be worth it
Cheers
Piyush Mishra – his acting, one liners, music and lyrics esp Duniya and another actor, Abhimanyu Singh were really good in the film…
On women
i just watched Pakeezah (1972)… the women in the film are so admirable, so sensible, so chaste… i tend to like such women…
there are women who think i’m a chauvinistic, and i’d as well make them believe i’m a conservative (i know what i am)… i didn’t talk about Gulaal’s women, because it’s their life, they can do what they want.. i’d just try to be true to my ‘outdated’ ideals… i can’t think of women in these ‘liberated/morally corrupt’ terms, i never did drugs, i haven’t smoked anything (am always high buddy- my all-time hit excuse), i’ve had botched many ‘opportunities’ in my life, and i’m still learning to do social drinking… that’s why maybe i am avoiding that topic…
flashback to five years ago:
when i was sixteen, i came up with a general list of four different categories of women:
1. red hot type- you can call her sec c! boy, you would love to date her
2. no reaction type- could be your friend, aaye jaye no tension… just anybody you don’t really care
3. infuriating type – pata nahi kyun, kuch ladkiyaein aisa kyu hotey hain ki dekhtey hi khhuuun khaulne lagta hain… she’s the woman you won’t even hate, you have always prayed for her ‘timely’ death
4. wohi pakeezah type yaar!!!! natural beauty! you start dreaming about her, you want to marry her… you don’t see her in too-piece, you always clad her in saari/kurta, even in your most erotic dreams.. this is the great Indian fantasy… oooohhh like that Namesake scene!!!
ek baar galti se meine yeh list ek girldfriend ko sunayi thi, mujhe kya pata thha woh puchne lagegi “mein tumhari kaun si category me aati hoon?”
mere mooh se ‘first category’ nikal gayi….. fasss gaye yaarrr…
then after half an hour, before i was getting off the bus to my office, mera dimag chacha chaudhari ki tarah chal raha thha.. i told her in the most romantic way possible lol:
“i thought there were just four kinds of women, par aaj tak socha nahi thha ki woh change bhi ho sakti hain…. you’re now in the ‘fourth category’”
rofl baal baal bache… however, sadly, that was the beginning of the end of that story….
cut to 2009:
a few month ago, i was forced to accept what my seniors and experienced lot were telling me all the time:
today, the ‘red hot’ are the most chaste ones
and the ‘pakeezah’ are the newly ‘liberated’ women of the century…
the film was good not brilliant…Mahi Gill’s dialogue “do i look like Tabu?” was silly and if its intention was to generate humour then,writer failed there miserably..Jesse Randhava’s character was not developed properly..Raja Chudhary was convincing as a simpleton in first half but fails as an actor when he becomes gun wielding spurned lover..He was not able to bring proper emotions to the fore..Kay Kay and Deepak Dobriyal were brilliant as u can expect from them..Aditya srivastava was also brilliant without talking much..Rest actors were all adequate..Music was excellant..
@Anil
I take your point ,I thought you were questioning the smoking drinking and sex scenes by women on moral grounds.
Ray was ahead of his times and so was Bengal when his films were made ,Anurag’s plots till now have been male dominated ,take No Smoking or Dev D or Gulaal where female characters were important but always in a supporting role.
Don’t expect movies like Charulata anytime soon from Indian film-makers ,most Indian male audiences don’t have the required self-respect or basic sense to appreciate such movies right now.
@ Salik
Hey, buddy I also tend to like the 4th category women but don’t have an idea that the whole equation has been changed. I would like to have more insight on this. :D
my email : sonuvuce@gmail.com
Everyone here is now talking about “portrayal of women” in this film…
I havn’t read all the posts…
but the general idea I have got is…whenever some amorous female character is shown in a film people tend to get carried away with emotions and raise an issue about “negative portrayal of women”…if we believe in gender equality than we should be able to accept female villains also…this is just a part of the story…
Yes general Indian audience doesn’t patronize films with strong female characters which shows the archaic attitude of them…
but this film was never supposed to a female centric film…also we have to note that politics is still a male bastion in India despite notable exceptions…this film still has one strong female lead in this masculine game though you might not like her ways…
You yourself seems to be very confused (it shows in every next sentence you have written). I think Anurag has done excellent job and I think you were expecting atypical bollywood masala flick. Tell you one more thing showing each character equally powerful is actually the strength of the film.
@ Vijay
i don’t watch Bollywood films… i rarely go to theatre to watch any Hindi movies…
and about my confusion, i love it…
@Salik
Finally someone talking sense. The film is a collage of some moments of absolute cinematic brilliance. But as a film it fails. Completely. Especially in the second half AK seems to lose it. This had the potential of being one of the best films made in the country. Sadly, Gulaal remains just another nice effort to be reckoned with. And nothing more.
i don’t think you’re supposed to like the film. its supposed to be disturbing and thats what it was. you guys should stop looking for the reasons why you didn’t like it. it was meant to make you uncomfortable. and it doesnt glorify rajputs. it shows how useless violence is and especially the “eye for an eye” attitude brings nothing but destruction. only thing the director made the viewer too comfortable watching, was the attitude of duki bana towards women…that wasn’t a great message for the average indian audience who’ll lap it up as ” just fine”