Review: Gangs of Wasseypur

Rating: 4/5

Time and time again, Anurag Kashyap has proven to be a path breaking director. He now presents - GANGS OF वासेपुर. A five hour, ambitious film that was recently screened at the Cannes Film Festival. In India, the film will release in two parts, with part one released last Friday.

The story is based on true events and locations, the director took a cinematic liberty of playing with the names of the characters and the flow of story. Much of the film revolves around Sardar Khan (led by Manoj Bajpai) and his vengeance to get his father's honor back, Shahid Khan (led by Jaideep Ahlawat).

In the midst of India gaining its independence, there's chaos among high society contenders who are in a battle to get their hands in the booming coal industry. The story picks up when Shahid Khan starts to loot a British goods train impersonating legendary Sultana Daku, who belongs to a higher ranking caste. Furious with this act, the villagers exile him after killing his men. Shahid ends up in Dhanbad working as a laborer in one of the coal mines owned by Ramadhir Singh (led by Tigmanshu Dhulia) who soon becomes his trusted aide. The locals now fear Shahid. As Ramadhir comes to find out his plan to eventually take over the mine by crushing him, he gets Shahid assassinated. This sets the plot for a brutal revenge based saga sprawled across generations on the lawless land of Wasseypur.

Aside from the big names that gave structure to the film, there are other fabulous character artists that connect the dots and take the experience to another level. Casting Director Mukesh Chhabra did a phenomenal job in carefully hand-picking each character by rummaging through various parts of India. Actor Piyush Mishra (Gulaal fame) attempts voice over for the first time, his tone blended well with the dark theme taking the story forward when it really gets cumbersome for audiences.

It is hard to remember the last time Manoj Bajpai starrer movie generated this kind of buzz among audiences and critics alike. Often sidelined when sharing screen space with the biggies in recent movies, it looks like he finally got the commercial success that he deserved. His character is naughty and polygamous yet brutal at the same time, not deviating from his goal in life to de-throne Ramadhir Singh and fulfill his revenge.

You cannot praise Anurag Kashyap enough for his fearless effort that stands out of traditional Bollywood cinema. The film gives you a raw local flavor of North India. Despite the film being dark, ‘GANGS OF वासेपुर’ has an inherent sense of humor that comes quite naturally as the story unfolds.

If you have been a fan of Omkara, Rakht Charitra and recently Pan Singh Tomar then this movie will definitely delight you! If you stay after all the credits have been rolled out, you will catch the trailer of GANGS OF वासेपुर – 2.

If you ask me, the length was well worth it!