Gunday Movie Review

Gunday: Kyonki Dost Dost Hota Hai
3/5 star By Joginder Tuteja, MovieTalkies.com, 14 February 2014 

First 30 minutes and the last 20 minutes - Now if only Gunday would have been as much fun as these 50 odd minutes when it comes to camaraderie between Ranveer and Arjun, it would have been so so so very much entertaining than what actually unfolds on screen. Reason being that the point of conflict (Priyanka Chopra) between the two friends starts on a stage where a conversation facilitated aptly via a medium (Saurabh Shukla) could just have saved the loss of property (and perhaps even lives). But then theseGunday have a big heart which means there is ample space for love, hatred, sacrifices and misunderstanding, all in good measure.

Misunderstanding - This is what cop Irrfan Khan infuses between the two friends and there is no suspense or sansanikhej khulaasa about that, right from the moment you realise as an audience that everything and every person isn't truly what it seems. With no real revelations making you come on the edge of the seat, you do anticipate at just the opportune junctures about where and by whom would the volcano erupt.

It is these very volcanos that were expected to be the mainstay of Gunday and in that aspect, second time filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar starts with a blast. Pun intended. Refugee camp, corrupt army men, koyle ki chori, bachchon ka badla, self respect, self made men, docks, koyle ki khaan, Bakhtawar [Hum] style car, dost ke liye jeena dost ke liye marna camaraderie between Ranveer (confident) and Arjun (exuding boyish charm) - just about every element fits in perfectly well in a fast paced narrative that makes you fall for the charm and might of Bikram and Bala. All is well in place and Priyanka (looking great) makes her 'entry' at just the right time to 'guarantee' some good fun.

The smiles are on and till the time she does a jig on Kaate Nahi Kat-te Ye Din Ye Raat, all is well. However a turn of events not just brings in a twist in Bikram-Bala tale, it also twists the narrative which ends up being predictable and unbelievable in alternative manner. Whatever really happens on screen, you only end up wondering why a conversation over a can of beer could not have resolved it all.

That pretty much continues right till into the second half with acts of the three principle protagonists only turning questionable at many junctures. The revelation of the big secret and the change of hearts is not surprising but it leads a sigh of relief as Gunday is back to, well, a tale of, for and by Gunday. You do cheers with Bikram and Bala all over again and while the action is set well in a mine (albeit choreographed routinely), you do get some clap and cheer moments, courtesy the key word - camaraderie.

Hum unke jaise nahi hai, hamaara dil bahaut bada hai - says one of the two 'gundas'. Well, true that because as long as the film is about them when they are 'together', film bhi bahaut badi hai!

source: Movie Talkies