A middle class guy named Zeishan Qadri on a random day in the early 2010s knocked on Anurag Kashyap’s studio door with a script which had nothing but former’s childhood in Dhanbad and Wasseypur locked in it, suggesting the latter to make a movie on the gangster uprising of the pre independent Bihar state.
Anurag Kashyap didn’t have any clue whatsoever that a never seen before true story spanning several decades in the enormous runtime of 5 hrs will have so much fan following in the coming years.
Kashyap is an inspired filmmaker and he doesn’t feel afraid to reflect the inspiration he takes from many filmmakers in his works. Wasseypur blends the Scoresisan narrative structure and absurdity of Tarantinoish voilent scenes seamlessly, and yet the film doesn’t feel like a derivative of the aforementioned’s works.
I usually don’t enjoy the Bollywood films that unnecessarily try to infuse a true story with juvenile moments of humour that don’t contribute to the overall narrative. But Anurag Kashyap miraculously makes the moments of humour a vital part of the narrative. There is a moment somewhere in the middle of the film where one of the main characters of the film Ramadhir confronts his servant about a big lie the latter told him. I dare say that moment stands toe to toe with the iconic Funny How? sequence of GoodFellas.
For a film that is filled with grittiness and voilence, Wasseypur’s soundtrack is rather ironic. The upbeat songs used with voilent scenes hampers with the shock factor in those scenes which simply leave the viewers agape.
The stellar cast of the film deserves a separate mention as well. Manoj Bajpayee’s acting skills are on a level where his contemporaries just can’t reach, a highly nuanced riveting performance is expected from him, but the stand out performer for me in this film is Tigmanshu Dhulia, his one menacing look is enough to give you shivers, but at the same time his comedy timing is on point as well.
Female characters like Nagma, Durga and Mohsina don’t get lost in the crowds as well. Anurag Kashyap very subtly presents how underestimating a woman is simply not a smart choice. Again Kashyap’s approach towards writing women characters comes from how Sharon stone’s character in casino was written, so it is understandable that women in this film are simply the catalyst for which everything revolves under. Richa Chadha, Reema Sen and Huma Qureshi are magnificent in their respective characters.
The grainy cinematography capturing all the city slums and all the atrocious activities happening there is both gruesome and intoxicating and you simply can’t look away from the screen because of how raw and unapologetic visuals look.
All in all, Gangs of Wasseypur is a sublime portrayal of love, death, revenge, corruption and politics which in my opinion is simply unmissable. Well, don’t even take the word of a film noob like me, see what Roger Ebert has to say about the film
“Any conversation about gangster movies going forward has to mention “Gangs of Wasseypur,” or it will be incomplete. In an age when the word “epic” has been devalued by overuse, it is a reminder of what the term truly means”
So ya, I urge all my fellow Cinephiles (who are not familiar with this two part crime epic) to give this flawless masterpiece a try. You definitely won’t be disappointed.
Ritesh has only two passions in life: movies and writing. With over two years of professional writing experience, he goes beyond SEO norms to convey his unfiltered love for cinema. A devoted admirer of Martin Scorsese, Ritesh believes that cinema is the most powerful storytelling medium on the planet, and through his words, he seeks to share that passion with the world.