Gulaal, at least partially, is an oblique take on Mahabharata, but one in which the defeated are still alive. If Karan is the Karna of Mahabharata, Dukey Bana is the Duryodhana (the similar sounding name would be too much of a coincidence). Pandavas (the democratic politicians taking turns at bedding Draupadi, the nation) have got their power through Vallabh Bhai Patel (the wily Krishna) and Duryodhana is assembling his army while Karna is plotting his revenge against both the Pandavas and Duryodhana.