After his directorial venture, Thugs Of Hindostan, proved to be a damp squib, Vijay Krishna Acharya disappeared from public view. It was after a hiatus that we spotted him at a preview of Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boy.

Ranveer Singh's character is inspired by the journeys of Indian rappers Neazy aka Naved Shaikh and Divine aka Vivian Fernandes. The audience has been hailing the rapper avatar of Ranveer Singh in the real world of underground music created by Zoya Akhtar.