Zoya Akhtar’s upcoming film, Gully Boy, starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, premieres at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival today (Saturday). A press screening of the film was earlier held on February 8; the Mumbai-set rap musical is scheduled to release in theatres on February 14. 

Produced by Essel Entertainment and Tiger Baby, Gully Boy tells the story of an underground rap artist named Murad (Ranveer Singh) emerging from the slums of Dharavi. Although not an official biopic, the film is inspired by the lives of Indian rappers Vivian Fernandes (Divine) and Naved Shaikh, and set against the backdrop of the burgeoning hip-hop culture in India. 

Gully Boy is being screened as part of the Berlinale Special programme at the Berlin Film Festival. Ritesh Batra’s upcoming film, Photograph, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sanya Malhotra, is also a part of the category. Alia Bhatt’s 2014 film, Highway, directed by Imtiaz Ali, was screened at festival in the Panorama section. 

Gully Boy also stars Siddhant Chaturvedi, Kalki Koechlin, Vijay Raaz, Vijay Varma and Amruta Subhash. The soundtrack of the film, supervised by singer-composer Ankur Tewari, features 18 songs created by 54 collaborators.