Writer-filmmaker Subhash Kapoor is one of the soundest story-tellers in Bollywood. He won notices for Phas Gaya Re Obama and Jolly LLB. Guddu Rangeela, a Haryana-based crime drama with a Sholay-like twist, helps establish his credentials further.

Kapoor's Guddu (Amit Sadh) and Rangeela (Arshad Warsi), both actors in fine fettle, are wanting a quick buck. But they're chicken-hearted and won't get their hands soiled in anything grimy. They're happy working as tip-off agents, giving banditry clues to local gangstas. Pray, what do they want the ill-earned money for?

Well. Rangeela has a back story. He is fighting a court case against an age-old caste system that took his love. Of course, all avariciousness leads to trouble. With the Mirpur cops on their tail, our heroes scout another escape route. Only this time, their ticket to freedom is provided by another goon, Bengali (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) who suggests a kidnapping. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the crooks pick up the girl, Baby (Aditi). And even as they try to appease their own guilt, they realize she's the one who has actually 'had' them.

The kidnappers and their prey bond when they find they have a common enemy in Khap chieftain, Biloo (Ronit Roy), who throws in a superlative performance. The khaps draw swords and the politicians draw lines. And, right in the midst of this mayhem, Guddu and Rangeela, have their own love-stories unfolding with guns, roses, PJs and silly poses.

Kapoor uses his guile in tackling the regressive Khap issue without getting preachy; he shows us that even in Namo's Swach Bharat, we still practice barbarianism. The film works, albeit on some level, because of its gritty writing. What could have genuinely raised the bar though, is a slicker pace, additional gloss and superstar charisma.

TRIVIA

1. The film is apparently inspired by Haryana's gruesome Manoj-Babli honour killing case which shocked the nation in 2009.
2. Amit Sadh and Arshad Warsi loved the Haryanvi lingo so much that they continued to converse in Haryanvi at the movie's promotions as well.
3. The song 'Mata ka email' did not go down well with some religious organizations who burnt posters of the film and sent threatening mails to director Subhash Kapoor.
4. Ronit Roy who plays a gun-wielding Haryanvi in the film trained for three months at a shooting range to get his nuances perfect.