Guns and Gulaabs Review: The gangster comedy stars Dulquer Salmaan as Arjun Verma, Rajkummar Rao as Tipu, Adarsh Gourav as Chhota Ganchi, Gulshan Devaiah as Atmaram, Satish Kaushik as Ganchi, and TJ Bhanu as Chandralekha, along with Goutam Sharma, Gaurav Sharma, Pooja Gor, Shreya Dhanwanthary, and others. The Netflix series was created and directed by Raj & DK, who also co-wrote the story with Suman Kumar. The dialogues are by Sumit Arora. There are seven episodes of an hour or more.
Guns and Gulaabs Review Contains No Spoilers
The story is set in the 1990s in Gulaabganj, where Ganchi signs a big opium deal. To stop the wrongdoings, a new cop, Arjun Verma, is transferred there. Along with Ganchi, there’s another baddie called Atmaram, a man with multiple lives and the blood of many people on his hands. Ganchi Gang and Atmaram are at loggerheads. We also meet a mechanic called Tipu, who wants to win over his crush, Chandralekha. However, destiny has its plans, and he gets embroiled in the world of crime. Ganchi also has a son, addressed as Chhota Ganchi.
Guns and Gulaabs has three enjoyable episodes where the world-building of the characters and their respective premise happens. The simultaneous storytelling of the love of three adolescent boys and the game of guns with the adults is enjoyable. The makers succeed in creating curiosity to see how and when these men’s worlds will intertwine.
But after episode 4, the show fails to provide a stable narrative. Even the simultaneous storytelling adds more chaos and confusion about what’s happening. The twist of Chhota Ganchi taking over his father’s business doesn’t add any spark to the story. Initially, Chota Ganchi comes off as creepy but later becomes a weak link. Arjun Verma gets a typical cop story we’ve seen in numerous crime shows.
Atmaran is the bad guy, and his name is taken more than he appears on the screen. What’s the point of talking about such a threatening baddie capable of doing anything when we see very little of him in the series? Most of the time, Atmaram gets an underwhelming reentry. Tipu’s trajectory is predictable but still better than everyone else’s. The first episode ends with Tipu astounding us with his actions. The character also becomes likeable as he attempts to woo his crush, struggles to understand and learn English, and oddly reacts to certain things.
Guns and Gulaabs relies greatly on nostalgia and how the 1990s movies were made. The show would’ve done better as a movie, as individually, the characters had very little to offer the plot. So many random people come and go, making it a messy platter. It felt like they had to bring in this randomness to fill the space of seven episodes. Raj & DK try to create the atmosphere of the classic gangster dramas, but they constantly remind us that it is set in the 90s, whether it’s playing the iconic 90s songs, the dialogue that doesn’t blend in naturally, or even the gangster names.
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For example, people tell Tipu to call himself Panna Tipu, as bad guys usually have bizarre names. But the constant reminder of why he should use Panna with his name takes away the joy of having a weird name. The women in the story have very little to offer, except for being something to desire for the men. It’s quite disappointing. More than the story, I was impressed with the start and end credits of the series. After so long, I didn’t click “skip intro” and “skip to next episode” on Netflix.
In terms of performances, Dulquer Salmaan performs Arjun Verma earnestly, but it’s not a challenging character. It was fun to see him mouth some good Hindi gaalis, though. Rajkummar Rao’s Tipu reminded me of his characters in Ludo and Monica O My Darling, where he gets tangled up in bad situations and takes the wrong path because there’s no other choice. Despite the repetition, Rajkummar’s character and performance were my favourites.
Gangster dramas are memorable because of their villains. Atmaram started as a promising villain, only to become the most forgettable character by the end. I still don’t know why the characters are worried about him and his actions. Yes, he kills people. But there should be more to convince you that he’s THE Villain in this season. As mentioned above, Adarsh Gourav initially creeps you out, especially in a scene where he’s having a meal with his friend and his wife. But everything after that doesn’t provide any growth for the actor’s performance or character.
Guns and Gulaabs Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, Guns and Gulaabs have to be the weakest work of Raj & DK. The show starts off well, doesn’t have a concrete story midway to keep one hooked and, thus, lets you down. The setting is pleasing to the eyes, but the characters are lacklustre.
The series is now streaming on Netflix.
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