The film, featuring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, had a packed house premiere

Zoya Akhtar’s much-awaited film Gully Boy, featuring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in lead, had a packed house premiere at the ongoing Berlin International Film Festival.

Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival shared on Twitter that the film was well-received and he has never seen such a response for any movie at Berlinale in past two decades.

“Watched the GULLY BOY world premiere tonight in a packed house with @RanveerOfficial, @aliaa08 & @ZoyaAkhtarOff present. Biggest cheers I’ve heard in 20+ years at the Berlinale,” he wrote alongside a picture of Ranveer meeting the audience post the premiere.

The festival’s official Twitter handle thanked Mr. Ranveer for his energetic rap performance on film’s track Apna Time Aayega.

“Thank you @RanveerOfficial , we had a blast last night, you were absolutely amazing,” the tweet read.

Social commentary

Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt threw their sizeable industry clout behind the tale of a couple yearning to break out of their Mumbai slum and traditional Muslim families to realise their dreams.

“It’s got commentary on the class divide, it’s got commentary on choices young people make — whether they want to be stuck in something that gives them no fulfilment versus pursuing their passion,” said Ranveer, whose character Murad has a meteoric rise after posting his first rap video online.

“I think it’s got a whole variety of stuff embedded between the lines that may just have a positive social impact.”

Gully Boy, produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, features Ranveer as an up-and-coming rapper who sets out to achieve

The film, also starring Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Vijay Raaz, will release on February 14.