MUMBAI: Apna Time Aayega!’ This line created an emotion that spread like a wildfire in the entire nation. Giving wings to many youthful dreams, Gully Boy, an inspirational tale chronicles the journey of an underdog, who goes from an ordinary ‘gully boy’ to becoming an extraordinary rapper of India while fighting all the odds. Directed by Zoya Akhtar and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, the film stars Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in the lead along with Siddhant Chaturvedi, Kalki Koechlin, Vijay Raaz, Vijay Varma and Amruta Subhash in supporting roles. While the movie successfully ruled over the box office, now it is all set to charm the world with its enigmatic narrative as India’s official entry to the 92nd Academy awards a.k.a Oscars 2020 in the Best International Feature Film Category.  Celebrate this moment of pride with &pictures – Naye India Ka Blockbuster Movie Channel as it premieres Gully Boy on Saturday, 28th September at 8 pm under the channel property ‘Saturday Premiere Nights’.

Gully Boy is a dedication to real life rappers Naezy and Divine and subtly highlights their journey of becoming the most loved rap-stars of India. The film gives voice to Mumbai’s unexplored rap culture, revealing in a beautiful narrative, real struggles of these artists. Through the infectious music and lyrics, the film brings to the fore, real life thoughts, emotions and the never die attitude of the youth of India. As a part of the movie promotion, &pictures has deviced a digital engagement activity called #ApniGullyKaGullyBoy, where fans will be sharing a rap/dance/dialogue video to a Gully boy track.

On the groundwork that went into making Gully Boy, director Zoya Akhtar says, “When Gully Boy was in its initial stage, none of us were sure of how the film would be received. Most people were not even aware of the rap scene in the country so we just hoped what had moved us would transmit to a bigger crowd. I have to thank Naezy and Divine for letting us into their lives and sharing their stories and process. We did our best to represent these talents and their distinctive voice. We are all extremely overwhelmed with the feedback Gully Boy has received. The news of it being the official entry for the Oscars has been very exciting.”

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Siddhant Chaturvedi on playing the part of MC Sher, and on working with Ranveer Singh said, “I really believed in my character and I was completely aware of the kind of space I was in. To be a part of such a big project was absolutely earth-shattering for me. I felt blessed, lucky, and happy. I did not expect myself to come out of the cocoon in such a manner. When my dad saw the film, he was in tears. My family has already seen it multiple times and will watch it again when it premieres on &pictures. To have been given so much love and respect for the character I played, credits must, of course, go to Zoya Akhtar, but moreover, Ranveer Singh. He motivated me throughout. It was rather ironical that I play a mentor to his character Murad on-screen when in reality he was my MC Sher. He mentored and advised me throughout, even off-screen and to top it all off, my debut on the big screen got nominated as India's official entry to the Oscars, when I heard it, I was over the moon and no words can express the gratitude I feel for having been a part of such an amazing journey”

Set against the backdrop of Dharavi slums, Gully boy traces the life of Murad Ahmed (Ranveer Singh), a young lad who is passionate, ambitious, yet emotional and is mostly seen refraining from expressing his thoughts. If a dysfunctional family was not enough, Murad has his hysterical, short-fuse girlfriend and support system, Safeena (Alia Bhatt) to contend with. But, after coming across a local rapper MC Sher (Siddhant Chaturvedi), Murad develops an inclination towards rapping which becomes an outlet for him to express his feelings. He turns his happiness, grief, discomfort and disappointment into hard-hitting lyrics which makes him an overnight internet sensation. But due to family pressures, he is torn between his passion for rapping and his responsibility towards his family. Will Murad manage to rise above all the odds?

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