Gangs of Wasseypur

An epic tale about loyalty, crime, lust, treachery and vendetta. A cinematic magnum opus.

Set in Dhanbaad's(Jharkhand)Village, called Wasseypur, "Gangs of Wasseypur" starts with our very own "Kyunki Saas bhi bahu thi" and goes beyond the cinematic ethics. A saga which has all the ingredients of a cult cinema like black humor, full mouthed characters, adultery, bullets,vengeance and everything you expect in a film by Anurag Kashyap.

En route to end of British Raj in India, Shahid Khan, a dacoit, loots the British trains, masquerading as Sultana Daku, is shot dead by Ramadhir Singh's goon. Shahid's son, Sardar Khan, pledges to avenge his father's death and shaves his head. He becomes one of the most notorious gangsters of Wasseypur. The film reconnoiters his connections with power, politics and fraternity of crime. There is a clash between two Muslim groups Pathans and Qureshis, about their covetousness for glory and money.

Manoj Bajpai gives an impeccable performance as a violent and lecherous man. It is one of the powerhouse acts, we will ever encounter. The real find of the decade is Tigmanshu Dhuila a well-known cult director (Hassil, Paan Singh Tomar, Saheb Biwi aur Gangster etc), who embodied the character as if he himself is Ramdhir Singh.

Richa Chadda is believable as Sardar Khan's anxious and bold wife. Reema Sen is good as a silent and steamy concubine of Sardar Khan.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is a born thespian; he is believable as weed smoking, Amitabh's die-hard fan and black sheep of the family. We have already witnessed him in "Kahaani" and "Peepli live". I think he is one of the most underrated actors, has now got an opportunity to flaunt himself in GOW II(I saw the trailer of Part II after the credit rolled).

Rest of the cast Piyush Mishra, Pankaj Tripathi, Huma Quershi(debut-She looks ravishing while persuading the theater's security guard for the second show of the movie "Trishul") and others are so authentic that you will easily relate the characters with North India (Bihar), the dialects, the dialogue delivery, the expressions are genuine.

The music by Sneha Khanwalkar is down to earth, a triumph, it has the rustic soul and is very unique. One can understand the geniuses by listening the beats and lyrics. Some of them are folks sung by the locals.

And after all it's Anurag Kashyap ,who can go to any length to enhance the quality of Indian Cinema. Undoubtedly it has been screened in Cannes,and people watched the entire saga (a delirious 5 Hours 20 Minutes run time) and lauded with the accolades. However, it should have been edited 20 minutes.

Impatiently waiting for Part II.

8.2/10