It was just after buying the tickets that I came to know that movie is 2 hours and 45 minutes long and I thought: “It has to be really good otherwise I am going to suffer big time” that too at the expense of losing precious office hours that I had to cover up by staying late in office. Then due to technical problems they started it almost 20 minutes, you can hardly imagine how much I wished to have watched some other movie.
But, the moment ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ (GOW) started, I forgot time and got lost in its flow. When it ended, at about 12:30, I felt mesmerized; by its plot and the way it is executed in Quentin Tarantino’s style of movie making; by the powerful performances by its bucketful of lesser known but brilliant actors, by its music and catchy songs in general, and its cinematography. So, one thing is clear that I loved GOW. WHY? Let me cover it all in details.
ABOUT THE PLOT: There are 3 aspects that GOWs plot coveres; first is the history of Wasseypur right from the times of British Rule when it lay in Bengal in 1941 and its journey to current times; 2nd is the history of Coal Mining Business and Mafia Raj surrounding it; and 3rd is the revenge Drama woven around the first two aspects right from the year 1941 to current times.
When Sultana, Qureshi’s Headmen and a famous dacoit, comes to know that Shahid Khan (Jaideep Ahlawat) is using his name to rob trains, he kills Shahid’s men and makes him leave Wasseypur. In Dhanbad Shahid works under Ramadheen Singh (Tigmanshu Dhulia), Coal Thekedaar, as a Pehalwaan to control the coal mine workers. Ramdheen Singh on discovering that Shahid intend to kill him and take control of the business, gets him killed. But Shahid’s friend succeeds in fleeing in time to save the life of his only son who with time grows up to be Sardar Khan(Manoj Bajpai) whose life’s only wish is to take vengeance with his fathers killer Ramdeen Singh and the Quereshi’s of Wasseypur. But, what he aspire is slow and painful revenge, by letting his victim know beforehand “Teri Keh ke Lunga”. Will Sardar Khan be able to fulfill his oath, watch GOW to know?
Well, to be truthful, that’s just an idea of the plot, what GOW offers is lot more than that. It’s a coming of the age kind of drama that, through its characters, covers chronicles of the gang wars and mafia raj that places like Wasseypur and Dhanbad has to go through and suffer under and is still doing so.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: I liked Anurag Kashyap’s movies but I am not a big fan of Anurag Kashyap’s kind of cinema but this time I really loved the way he has directed GOW. Brilliant is the word for his direction. It’s a difficult task to make a movie of close to 3 hours and still keep the viewer fully satisified, more so when a viewer come to know that the story isn’t going to end with this one but is supposed to continue in next part, when ever it happens, movie becomes a classic and that’s what is going to happen with GOW, for sure. It is surely going to become a cult classic movie in the genre of crime.
ABOUT THE CAST: Well, GOW belongs to Manoj Bajpai, whole and soul. Its kind of role that suits him and he has given his career’s best performances here. I feel GOW should revive his career and at least get a nomination for him in most of the award ceremonies, wont be a surprise if he wins them too. Jaideep Ahlawat as Shahid Khan and Tigmanshu Dhulia as Ramadheen Singh are the surprise packages of GOW, both have delivered powerful performances that stays with you. Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Faisal Khan, (Sardar Khan’s son) is impressive but hasn’t got enough screen space, but I feel he is going to be the lead in the sequel. Richa Chadda as Sardar’s wife is awesomely entertaining; she has got some mind blowing dialogues. All other actors, I don’t know there names, has done their best to support the lead actors and make GOW, a movie to watch.
Very well written screenplay by Anurag and team has been covered with excellent dailogues, many of which remain with you even after leaving the hall. Some of them even succeed to make you laugh for their rawness of words.
ABOUT THE CREW: Music (Sneha Khanwalkar) suits the mood off the movie, and perfectly support shades of the scenes it belongs too. Songs are very good and form the highlights of the music and the movie as well, “Teri Keh ke Lunga”, “Hunter Song” , "Jiya tu", "Womeniya" are all sung in typical bihari style. They are catchy and their picturisation fit well in the movie . Cinematography by Rajeev Ravi, is a treat to watch, even in a movie filled with gun shots and fights he manages to bring forth the beauty of Dhanbad, or should I say Dhanbad looks beautiful under his lenses.
ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE, GOW is filled with gun shots, lots of noise, lots and lots of cuss words, and some adult stuff. So, watch it with friends but not with family. Children, well, , , keep them as much away from GOW as possible. I didn’t find any double meaning kind of stuff here though, director has made sure that his characters talk straight whatever is there in their mind, you know what I mean.
GOW is lengthy, but not at all boring. It sticks to its genre most of the time, and though not a comedy movie, GOW always make sure that laughs and cackles are always there after every minute or two, be it thru its dialogues or through the excellent body language of its actors.
Well, the extra time that I have to cover in office due to the time spend on watching GOW in the morning today, is over, and so is my review on GOW. That’s all I have to say. If you have followed my review closely and belong to the genre of this movie I am sure you will be there in your nearest cinema hall in days to come.
My Rating : 4.5
P. S: Don’t forget to rate and comment, because this time “Main Keh Ke Lunga..”