Comfort zones

It is all about balances, after all. You will have movies that go off the beaten path and give you something to draw off, like Dev D or Ship of Theseus (I apologise right away for clubbing them together) or screw it up terribly, like John Day. I might be stretching the comparisons too thin, but I hope you get the drift. Then of course, to balance the other end, you have movies like Gunday that steer onto the beaten path and make it worth your while.

Do not watch Gunday if hard-core Bollywood is not your thing. Spare yourself the time and the money. Ali Abbas Zafar follows Bollywood clichés to the hilt and it is strangely very comforting. Replete with ample emotional scenes, some predictable dialogues and even a very dramatic tableau right before the interval. Ah! Comfort zone.

The old wine-new bottle logic is very hackneyed, this is old wine-swankier bottle. And that is simply because Arjun Kapoor (Bala) and Ranveer Singh (Bikram) are so pleasing to the eye. Unlike their industry seniors, these actors don’t share a tension that comes with who-gets-more-screen-time or who-gets-the-girl. These boys have maxed out their camaraderie card and it is awesome to watch the men be such great friends on screen and off. The stuff great Bollywood bromances are made of. Aww. 

Of course there is the girl (Priyanka Chopra as a very good looking Nandita), the only one who can create the proverbial rift between the men. And since they are the ‘bad guys’ there is the smarter-than-you-all police officer Satya (Irrfan Khan) who will bring the bad boys in. Writing any more about the plot would be giving it all away so we are going to shift.

The best part about Gunday is that all the actors are very comfortable in their roles. They seem to be in the right skin and enjoying the ride. You would not expect anything else from Irrfan Khan, but it is great to see Priyanka Chopra back to her guns after the disastrous Krrish 3. Arjun and Ranveer are those actors who make it all seem very easy because their off-screen personas make a place for themselves in the on-screen avatars. Not a disadvantage if you ask us. 

Irrfan doesn’t have too much screen time, but that’s hardly an issue because Gunday doesn’t need to be salvaged by talent over brawn. It works. It will work. Trade analysts have already passed their verdict of Gunday getting off to a great start and the graph isn’t expected to drop.

Gunday could have done with better music but that can be ignored because it is a fun film. The movie does a good job with the 1970’s Kolkata sets and the clothes, though we have serious doubts about the blouses Priyanka Chopra sported with a gusto. 

Watch the movie, drool over Bikram and Bala, the aviators and Bikram’s bike. Best Valentine’s weekend plan ever. You can thank me later.