The trailer of Raj & DK’s Guns & Gulaabs raised a lot of anticipation. The seven-episode series starring powerhouse talents like Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salmaan, Adarsh Gourav, and Gulshan Devaiah, is a humble ode to 90s Bollywood. It’s got the music, romance as well as the crime of a typical 90s Bollywood movie down pat. Here’s our review of this whacky dark comedy.

A massive throwback to the 90s

Guns & Gulaabs is a quirky series that makes you nostalgic about old Bollywood movies. From the songs to the costumes, everything is a throwback to the Bollywood of the 90s. The series has the typical Raj & DK humour, but while some of the jokes land, the others lack punch. Guns & Gulaabs is slow-moving, sometimes a bit too much.

Set in Gulaabganj, the series follows the rivalries between two gangs, the Gulbaabganj gang and the Sherpur gang. Gulaabganj is run by Ganchi (Satish Kaushik) who runs an opium business. Tipu’s (Rajkummar Rao) father, who was an integral part of the Gulaabganj gang, was killed by 4 Cut Atmaram (Gulshan Devaiah). And there begins the story. All Tipu wants is to own a garage of his own, but circumstances lead him to follow in his father’s footsteps in the world of crime.

On one side, we see Tipu and his foray into the land of crime, and on the other side, we have a seemingly honest cop Arjun Verma (Dulquer Salmaan). He starts looking into the opium business as soon as he sets foot in Gulaabganj and manages to ruffle some feathers pretty soon. His past is a bit of a mystery, but certain aspects are easily predictable.

Guns & Gulaabs holds your interest in certain places, but in others, it can seem tedious. It’s a show that will take some patience to get through and probably isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

Impressive performances

With actors like Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salmaan, and Gulshan Devaiah, the performances were never in question. But the surprise element of the cast is Adarsh Gourav as Chhota Ganchi. He is pure fun to watch on screen. He tries hard to fill the shoes of his criminal father, but you also see a certain naivete in him. Gulshan Devaiah as 4 Cut Atmaram is another quirky character to look forward to. He is a killer for hire and kills people quite ruthlessly. Despite that, you don’t feel like he is a complete villain, especially given his looks and mannerisms. Rajkummar Rao gets enough substance to shine in this show as you see various shades in Tipu’s character. From a grieving son to an avenging friend, he has got all his bases covered. Dulquer Salmaan too does a great job with the material he is given. There is, of course, some question as to which way his character is going to turn, and the actor manages to capture that ambiguity well.

Guns & Gulaabs can be fun if you give it a chance. This review is based on the first three episodes. The series is now streaming on Netflix.

Can you watch Guns & Gulaabs with your family?: Maybe not, there’s enough murder, mayhem, and abusive language to trigger some people.

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