‘Had lot of fun creating Guns and Gulaabs’

Filmmaker Raj Nidimoru said that he and his writing partner Krishna DK love blending genres together and they got an opportunity to do just that with their first ‘Netflix’ series, ‘Guns and Gulaabs’, which is set in the 1990s.

Raj, one-half of the acclaimed writer duo Raj and DK, known for super-hit titles such as ‘Stree’, ‘The Family Man’ and ‘Farzi’, said that they set themselves free for the currently streaming show.

“We completely let ourselves loose on something we have always loved - this genre mashup. We had a lot of fun creating it,” Raj had said at the trailer launch of ‘Guns and Gulaabs’ in New Delhi.

The event was also attended by DK, co-writer Suman Kumar, as well as actors Rajkummar Rao, Gulshan Devaiah and Dulquer Salmaan.

“This is also a throwback to our initial films like ‘99’ and ‘Shor in the City’. That kind of genre and energy, in a way, is us going back to our own early sensibilities,” added DK, who served as co-creator on the show with Raj.

This is the fourth web series collaboration for Raj and DK, following Amazon Prime Video’s ‘The Family Man’, starring Manoj Bajpayee in the lead role, ‘Unpaused’ anthology (segment ‘Glitch’) and Shahid Kapoor starrer ‘Farzi’.

Set in the 1990s, ‘Guns and Gulaabs’ follows the story of a lovestruck mechanic, Paana Tipu (Rajkummar Rao); a reluctant heir to a ruling gang, Chhota Ganchi (Adarsh Gourav); an honest officer-turned-agent-of-chaos, Arjun Verma (Dulquer Salmaan) and a killer called 4-cut Atmaram (Gulshan Devaiah).

Asked who defined the 1990s era for him, Rajkummar Rao said it has always been superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

“The one and only Shah Rukh Khan sahab. The most handsome ‘jawan’ of all,” he said, referencing Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film, ‘Jawan’.

Dulquer also mentioned Shah Rukh Khan as an inspiration as he talked about his hit Telugu film ‘Sita Ramam’ (2022) as an ode to the superstar’s romance films from the 1990s.

“No matter how hard I try, the romantic tag always finds me. It became stronger with ‘Sita Ramam’. I think ‘Sita Ramam’ was my DDLJ (‘Diwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, starring Shah Rukh),” he added.

From the time period to music to fashion, the force of nostalgia is strong in ‘Guns and Gulaabs’ and the creator duo said that it is because the 1990s were a ‘simpler’ era.

“Life is too easy now and quick. In the 1990s, there was a lot more effort. You had to work hard at everything and so the results were also sweeter in every single aspect of life. I think it is in our nature to look back at the time we were in. Nostalgia is a part of us and there is always charm. As soon as you think about the past, there is a charm to it. It brings a smile to your face,” said Raj.

DK said that the concept of nostalgia will differ from generation to generation.

“Of course, that is what we feel today. 30 years from now, there will be a generation of people saying, ‘Oh, 2020 was an amazing period with social media’. I read this somewhere a while back that nostalgia is roughly 30-40 years before your time’. People like us, who bring out films, series and studios, can relate,” he added.

Rajkummar Rao, who previously worked with Raj and DK on the horror comedy ‘Stree’, said that he wants to work with the writers again and again.

“I know them right from ‘Stree’ times. They think what no one else does. I want to be involved in all projects done by Raj and DK. Be it ‘The Family Man’ or ‘Farzi’, I love the world they create,” he said.

The National Award winner added, “As a 1990s kid, I love this world. It is like the most amazing era. Landlines, writing love letters, music, Nadeem-Shravan, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Anu Malik. It was great. I got a chance to go back to that generation.”

Dulquer Salmaan, who made his web series debut with ‘Guns and Gulaabs’, said that working on the show was an exciting experience for him.

“I have never made any grand plans in my career. Be it venturing out in different languages or formatting content, getting a call from Raj and DK was a validation in itself. The world-building of the show is so unique even for them and I love that an amazing cast was already on board. This was a no-brainer for me. The long format of storytelling allows you to live with the role longer than in the case of a film,” he added.

Gulshan Devaiah, fresh from the success of the ‘Amazon Prime Video’ series ‘Dahaad’, said that Raj and DK give the cast full legroom to improvise and ideate with the script.

“We started discussing what else we could do with the role. We discussed the look, the colour of the teeth or the weapon. It all began about two-three months before the shoot began,” he said, quipping he contracted COVID-19 from Raj days after he started shooting for ‘Guns and Gulaabs’ during the second wave of the pandemic.

Suman Kumar, who co-wrote the series with Raj and DK, said that the story underwent ‘about 20-25 iterations’.

“It was a rigorous and lonely writing process. This madness started years ago,” said Kumar.

‘Guns and Gulaabs’, directed and produced by Raj and DK, arrived on ‘Netflix’ on August 18. It also stars Adarsh Gourav, TJ Bhanu, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Pooja A Gor and the late Satish Kaushik.