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Starring: K K Menon, Aditya Srivastav, Piyush Mishra,
Ayesha Mohan, Raj Singh Chaudhary, Mahi Gill, Pankaj Jha,
Jessie Randhawa, Mukesh Bhatt
Directed by: Anurag Kashyap
Gulaal is set in Rajpur a
fictional city of Rajasthan, where a member of the
erstwhile royal family stakes claim to the land of
Rajasthan and wants to go back to the days of royalty
which challenges the very idea of democracy.
Similar to a Shakespearean fable of desire, lost
identities, love, greed, violence, murder, deceit, power
and innocence, it is a film inspired by poetry; the
forgotten male, macho world of power, corruption and
greed, where women are just means to an end while nobody
can be trusted. It's a film that brings back poetry to
cinema, songs that inspire us, shake us; sometimes a
thriller, a drama, but poignant, shocking and
provocative.
The film is about an innocent student Dileep (Raj Singh
Chaudhary) who comes to Jaipur to study, accompanied by
his faithful servant Bhanwar. Here he comes in contact
with Rananjay Singh “Ransa” (Abhimanyu Singh) a
contemporary intelligent, sensitive young man who
refuses to abide traditions; his ideologies clash with
his father’s, the local raja, Jadwal (Pankaj Jha ) with
old school of thought he is the college goon who rags
Dileep; Anuja (Jessie Randhawa) a professor ragged with
Dileep; despair brings both together and a strong
emotional bond develops between them. Dukey Bana (Kay
Kay Menon) a powerful local figure who leads an army of
radical Rajputs struggling to get Rajputana back from
the Government of India challenging the very idea of
democracy); Kiran (Ayesha Mohan) uses Dileep for power
and personal interest).
Dileep resigns and Kiran takes
charge. As soon as in power, she refuses to meet Dileep
and tries to get close to Dukey using her feminine charm.
A lovelorn and rejected Dileep gets more and more
frustrated, abusive and violent in desperation. This
behavior creates a distance between Dileep and the people
who truly love and understand him.
Blinded by his love for Kiran, Dileep goes into frenzy
becoming a sorry and inevitable victim of circumstances.
The whole madness around Dileep intensifies; sense of
conspiracy and feeling of a fake unrequited love push him
to the edge… Gulaal races to an unforgettable climax… out
of the faces painted in Gulaal, a face is revealed… the
face of the new leader…
One can not expect easy plots or armchair cinema from
Anurag Kashyap who is clearly one of the most compelling
directors in bollywood. The characters and nature of his
scenes in Gulaal are so compelling that you cannot help
but accept his argument.
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Against a backdrop of local political intrigue, the film
begins with a Rajput conglomerate gaining strengthen as
Dukey Bana and a few ex-Royals convince a reluctant Ransa
to contest for the college elections on behalf of the
Rajputana party; Ransa and Kiran battle it for General
Secretary’s post. The rivalry between the two gangs
intensifies and Ransa is forced to withdraw, which he
resists. Eventually this leads to his murder by Karan (Kiran's
brother and Rasna’s illegitimate sibling). Using the
sympathy wave, Dileep is compelled to contest elections in
Ransa’s place and made to win.
After losing the elections Kiran tries winning Dileep
trust, gets close to him and pretends to fall in love. As
he tries to fit into the shoes of the General Secretary an
insecure Dileep gets emotionally dependent on Kiran and
distance grows between him and Anuja. Dileep finds himself
trapped in political maneuvers and realizes that this is
not what he had wanted. It dawns to him that he is being
used by Dukey; when Dileep confronts Dukey, he is faced
with a horrifying truth!
Dukey Bana is masterminding a Rajputana movement, to have
a separate state ruled by Rajputs. In a gamut of Red faces
(Gulaal is put over the faces to mask their true
identity), Dileep sees the truth behind Dukey and his
actions. So Dileep decides to resign from the post of the
General Secretary.
This heavy, brain-consuming
yet engrossing film has fiery scenes and explosive
characters.
Cast
Dukey Bana - Kay Kay Menon
Dileep Singh - Raj Singh Chaudhary
Rananjay Singh "Ransa" - Abhimanyu Singh
Jadhwal - Pankaj Jha
Karan - Aditya Srivastava
Anuja - Jesse Randhawa
Bhati - Deepak Dobriyal
Kiran - Ayesha Mohan
Madhuri - Mahi Gill
Prithvi Bana - Piyush Mishra
Bhanwar Singh - Mukesh Bhatt
Dukey Bana's wife - Jyoti Dogra
Credits & Crew:
Presented by: Zee Limelight
Music & Lyrics: Piyush Mishra
Directed by Anurag Kashyap
Written by Raja Chaudhary
Story & Screenplay: Anurag Kashyap
Music by Piyush Mishra
Cinematography Rajeev Ravi
Editing by Aarti Bajaj
Distributed by Zee Limelight
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