A gangster-drama web series by Raj & DK starring Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salman, Adarsh Gourav and Gulshan Devaiah

Netflix finally builds momentum with its Hindi originals slate after Scoop and now Guns & Gulaabs. This one packs a solid star cast, fun writing, and an engaging pace. Gangs of Wasseypur opened the door for gangster-dramas with hilarious punches and unconventional music. Guns & Gulaabs strolls right into that genre.

The plot

The story revolves around 4-lead characters and follows the trope of their paths intertwining to lead to the big finale.

Rajkummar Rao plays Tipu, the mechanic son of a hired gun; he’s in love with Chandralekha, an english teacher, who is being pursued comically by one of her students. This equation sets the tone of the show where the narrative is pushed by tomfoolery for the initial episodes. Rajkummar Rao is probably the best lead actor around who can pull off the likeable loser trope as often as he does.

He’s thrown into this spiral with his now-murdered father’s employers as they’re working on fulfilling an overcommitment of opium.

The employers? Enter Satish Kaushik (R.I.P.), who plays Ganchi seth along with his son Jugnu, played by Adarsh Gourav (we’ll get to him). They’re pretty much the Amazon of Opium delivery and are navigating a crisis of their own where an ex-employee, Nabeed, is threatening their business and the aforementioned deal.

Nabeed hires the services of 4-cut Atmaram, REVHUMAN’s favourite character of the show, played by Gulshan Devaiah. Packed with a backstory that’s stuff of legend, he seemingly is this unkillable assassin with his own technique of finishing the job through 4 cuts of his rampuri knife. The aforementioned murdered father of Tipu? It was Atmaram who dealt the 4-killing blows.

Between all of this drama, arrives Inspector Arjun, played by Dulquer Salman, continuing his string of stellar hits and interesting characters. Arjun shakes up the demand and logistics of opium in Gulaabganj and Sherpur (interconnecting villages that are the location of the show)

He has his own backstory and demons he’s dealing with alongside his wife and daughter her are adjusting to their new home in Gulaabganj. The story revolves around the opium deal and its delivery.

Let’s circle back to the 4th pillar of the show, Jugnu. Circumstances lead him to take over the Opium delivery commitment set by his father, while also managing his reputation as the heir of the empire.

Adarsh Gourav is too good in his performance. His character is built up splendidly throughout the series. Highlighting his highs would require spoiling the show, so REVHUMAN refrains.

The casting, even outside of the lead 4 is done really well. Each character has a distinct personality and something going for them (okay maybe not Suneel’s twin brothers)

The pacing of the show is good, especially if you binge watch is your preferred mode of Netflix. REVHUMAN feels it would’ve worked even better if it was a long movie, but the world is run by metrics, so why should Netflix stay behind?

What’s in a name?

What a basic name for such a good show. The name fails to capture the essence of the series and does not do justice at all. With most things in life, if it doesn’t make sense, it’s probably marketing. Just to own an IP that’s a play on Guns n Roses and is unfortunately similar sounding to the reality show Skulls and Roses? Come on y’all you can much better than this.

Raj + DK have seemingly cracked the formula of OTT content; A family man, Farzi and now with this web series. You should definitely watch Guns & Gulaabs on Netflix. Here’s the trailer for you to check out: