Netflix has delivered a punch in ‘Guns and Gulaabs’. As many of noted, it drags a bit, which lowers the fun somewhat. But still, it is a thrilling ride, of taut storyline which has unbelievable but perfectly anticipated coincidences. More importantly, it unleashes the violence, right in the style of acclaimed directors who tell such violent tales yet manages to keep the humour alive. It is a difficult mixture, violence with humour, and perhaps it should be forbidden considering the how easily people are coming to blows, bullets, and killings.
Barring the
end, where everyone knows how to drive a truck, the story manages the internal
consistency of the plot well. Like a true profit maximiser, certain interesting
threads are kept dangling, to provide material for the next season if finance
demands so. If not, it is a tale well told, over and out.
Apart from
being a heady mixture of humour and violence, there are some aspects of ‘GG’ (Guns
and Gulaabs) which made me like it more. First, the unrealism of amulets and
multiple lives of the Atmaram. It blends perfectly with story. Second, the warm
light in which all day scenes are shot. For someone in hot and humid hellhole
like Mumbai, watching a sunlight that doesn’t scorch and where someone can wear
sweater is a treat. Third, recreation of past, around 30-35 years old, is credible.
I would
have liked it more if would have a long, 3 hours or so, movie. That would have
saved us from many spiralling, interesting, but non-contributing lines, like how
one of the character likes to play Hindi songs or the whole teen school drama
or other character’s seeming interest about violence which is at odds with other
traits of her character.
And, in the
last episode, there is an interesting dialogue, two lines basically, about what
it means to lie and to be truthful. A good story generally contains its moral
puzzle which we can take with us even after story is over. I am happy that GG
too has it.
The entertainment
consumption is akin to food consumption. For most of the time, we consume tasty
but routine stuff. The anecdotal dish, may be somewhat harmful to health, is encountered
rarely. GG is not a poison like Gangs of Wasseypur or Batman triology, but it isn’t
a famous burger either. It has its own taste, worth savouring.
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