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 The first part of Gangs of Wasseypur had left the audience wanting for more and the expectation with GOW 2 are therefore sky high. Does the film live up to the expectations? Well this movie reinvents the genre of revenge themes and redefines the use of violence and dark humour in narrative. It is surely one of the most well researched movie which tries to capture every possible detail of the characters it portrays.
You know right from the first frame that revenge is the end motive of the movie and the nemesis of the protagonist is going to face it brutally. But it goes beyond brutality. It is probably the most violent scene you will ever see in a Hindi film. Nawazuddin Siddiqui with that little smirk of satisfaction on his lips and the unshed tears in his eyes defines the gist of revenge. He puts his finger on what all the hitherto revenge movies have missed – satisfaction and relief of ending a story! All of Anurag Kashyap movies are well layered and this is no different. Obsessed with storytelling, his indulgent, amoral themes transcend the boundary of good and bad and leaves aside the age old motifs of victory of virtue over vice. The illegitimate and deprived part of the society supersedes the one containing legitimate power owners and this is the focus of attention throughout the movie. This form of storytelling works for many as it is very relatable to people. There is a strong political power struggle, a think family bonding, and a rich narrative that adds to the dark theme of the movie. In between a marriage celebration, as the leading lady of the movie (Protagonist’s mother) while singing a wedding folk song, moves into the agony of her past – of death of her elder son and her husband, the mood swings from celebration to sadness. That scene almost summarizes the crux of the movie- a family’s story written in blood, power struggle and precedence of enemy over lover. The story of GOW 2 starts with the demise of Sardar Khan (Manoj Bajpayee) and rise of the next generation. Danish (Vineet Singh) gets killed and Faizal (Nawazuddin) takes over. Two colourful characters of Definit (Zeishan Quadri) and Perpendicular, former copying Salman Khan and later Sanjay Dutt, make the story edgy. With Sultan (Pankaj Tiwari) and Ramadhir Singh ( Tigmanshu Dhulia) growing older the story of revenge intensifies with introduction of characters like Shamshad (Rajkumar Yadav) and killings now include that of women of the family as well. The pointlessness of all the killing and violence is well mentioned by Faizal’s character at a point.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is the find of the movie. Of course we saw him in Kahaani and Pan Singh Tomar this year, but this surely will be a landmark role in his career. Evil, simple, greedy, ruthless and charming at different times, he delivers an extraordinary performance. Zeishan Quadri who also happens to be the writer of this epic story, is the next in line as definit. He portrays his character with ease. Vineet Singh, Pankaj Tiwari, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Piyush Mishra, Satya Anand, Jameel Khan – all are pitch perfect like the first part of the movie. Anurag Kashyap seems to understand women better now. Unlike mostly powerless and oppressed females of Gulaal and victimized chanda of Dev D, Nagma (beautifully essayed by Richa Chaddha), Mohsina (Huma Quereshi), Sama (Anurita Jha) and Durga (Remma Sen) are more in control. Huma Quereshi stands out from the lot this time. She shines and charms the audience in the love scenes with Nawazuddin. Dialogues for the movie (Zeishan and Anurag Kashyap) give a beautiful earthly feel to the almost unrealistic backdrop of violence. The story and screenplay are absolutely spot on as you do not feel bored even with a little extra length of the movie. Zeishan Quadri has done a great job in characterization, giving enough space for individuality. Cinematography by Rajeev Ravi adds to the screenplay. There are times when the screen goes completely black and those pauses in the visual story telling are beautifully taken, as you move around in your seat trying to squint and find out what happened to the character. Some of the violent shots with unstable camera movement has a gritty nervy feel about it. Visuals of perpendicular – a well-built teenager playing with the blade in his mouth and Definit taking a cobra like a muffler are tightly integrated with the screenplay. Editing again is to be blamed but with the kind of indulgence, you tend to feel that editing just to keep the length short would not have done justice to so many characters and their backstory.
All in all, this is the best movie to come out from India this year so far. It is gritty, well-paced, extremely well-acted, genre defining, path breaking work of art. The movie is not for the ones who are not comfortable with violence being depicted graphically. If you can digest violence on screen, it is a sure winner.
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The style of narrative is strongly influenced by world movies, film noir and pulp fiction. Unlike the sentimentality of movies that we like to fall for, the movie treads the thought process and theme of the story. Action is the prime mover. The blood and gore in the movie might remind you of Tarantino and it’s unique because there is no precedence to such violence in Hindi films. Yet it is strongly rooted with the impact of Bollywood on the common man. References to eras and times of Khan’s, Qureshi’s and Singh’s are done through Bollywood movies. Yashpal Sharma’s character with his songs like “Teri Meherbaniya” , “Yaad Teri Ayegi” and “My name is Lakhan” is an exceptional point in case. Dark humour apart from this song is everywhere as well – do check out some of the chase sequences in a crowded town as well as goof ups during the gang wars.
One of the strongest and omnipresent character for the part 2 of GOW has been the music. The movie for the first half deals extensively with percussions. The drums, the dhols, the daflis – all keeps you hooked to the movement of the story. The occasional flavour of folk songs and the experimental songs with lyrics like “Frustiyao na moora, Nervasao na Moora” being used absolutely intelligently adds to the flavour. Sneha Khanwilkar, you are the chosen one!