Guns & Gulaabs: Hit or flop? Makers Raj & DK deliver their next dark-comedy

It is obvious for the audience to expect a larger-than-life series from director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, collectively known as Raj & DK, who have come up with spectacular projects like Go Goa Gone and The Family Man in the past. However, with the release of their latest dark-comedy Guns & Gulaabs , the paved path seems to have been broken. The award-winning duo gained wide popularity for their previous OTT blockbusters like The Family Man 1 and 2 starring Manoj Bajpayee in the lead role and Farzi starring Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi and Bhuvan Arora. However, now, the director duo are being pointed out for coming up with an average series in their latest series Guns & Gulaabs.

With the release of Guns & Gulaabs, Raj & DK have transported the audience into the era of black crime comedy. Several factors like a stellar cast comprising two superb actors Dulquer Salmaan and Rajkummar Rao contributed to the high expectations, however, it turned out to be a big disappointment in the end.

Based on Firstpost’s review of the series, the writing is a mess and not much efforts have been put into the script. In its own way, this down-played the series that lacked the shine and luster required for the cinema educated audience. The series sees more of mindless ‘dhushum dhushum or silly romance.’  Within no time, the main plot of the seven-episode series, which revolves around drug-dealing, gets tangled up with a school romance, father-son conflict, and a cop caught between his wife and a lover.

Inspired by the ‘misfits’ of the world, although the film had all the layers possible, that of love, hatred and comedy, it didn’t relieve the ordinary. The storytelling lacks depth while inducing confusion at the same time.  Although the series maintains the creators’ signature style, the plot isn’t great. All in all, although it is a fine celebration of ‘pulp fiction’, the storyline somehow butchers the fun.

The women actors in the series weren’t give enough screen-time and their parts were close to negligible. Though some engaging episodes glued the audiences to the show, the overall experience isn’t pleasing. In addition, the series lacks surprising moments and predictability.

Several X users posted their perspective on the Raj & DK’s series on the microblogging site.

Check out some of the tweets on X below:

One user wrote, “Guns and Gulabs is a very ordinary script!”

Guns and Gulabs is a very ordinary script!! Nothing not even Rajkumar Rao could have saved it ..

It was like watching a sasta copy of Gangs of Wasseypur or Mirzapur Spoof all rolled in one ..

Total waste

— Dr. Gaurav Sharma (@dandiwakh) August 21, 2023

“Average show at best,” remarked another user.

Watched Guns & Gulabs this weekend, and to my surprise it was a very average show at best.
The characters were interesting but the storyline was neither unique nor engaging. Would have been better if creators made it into a 2 hour movie. pic.twitter.com/5doM6mAohh

— Akshat Bang (@akshat_bang) August 21, 2023

A user said, “I like most of the actors cast in the show, not the show much. What am I missing?”

Guns and gulabs – have been watching it. I like most of the actors cast in the show, not the show much. What am I missing?

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