Producer: Arjun Rampal
Director: Aushim Ahluwalia
Star Cast: Arjun Rampal. Aishwarya Rajesh, Rajesh Shringarpure, Farhan Akhtar, Anand Ingale
Rating: ***
Grippingly Intense!
From raids on matka dens to smuggling and becoming aligned with local don Maqsood (Farhan Akhtar), Gawli gets entrenched in Bombay’s underbelly. There’s a fine scene of a shootout around a building’s lift shaft that captures the establishment of the B.R.A. gang named after Babu Reshim (Anand Ingale), Rama Naik (Rajesh Shringarpure) and Arun Gawli.
PLUS POINTS:
Arjun Rampal lives his role as the cold blooded gangster with a golden heart while Aishwarya Rajesh as his wife also scores. Rajesh Shringarpure impresses as one of the three gangsters, who call themselves the B.R.A gang consisting of Baba Reshim, Rama Naik and Arun Gawli. Farhan Akhtar has hardly a role though he looks like Dawood Ibrahim. The film sets out to explore a new story delivery style while tackling the ever-popular gangster genre. As it walks the fine line between judgment and glorification, the film at times feels like a bunch of headlines stitched together managing to suck you back into a time that actually shaped modern Mumbai.
MINUS POINTS:
The sepia-tone frames stay muted and never leap at you. As a result, you are numbed and do not feel the tension, even when some brutal killings play out.
THE VERDICT:
Though by way of novelty nothing shocks you in the film since everyone knows the rise and fall of Arun Gawli, it makes interesting watch at least once.
