I've always felt that Anurag Kashyap is one the very few GOOD hindi movie directors of our generation. Granted, his movies aren't exactly mainstream commercial Bollywood flicks with big stars and exotic locations. But that is the beauty of his flicks. Kashyap doesn't cheat audiences with such superficial elements but instead dishes out entertaining phillums with plots boasting tons of substance and characters that are as complex as you and me. Gangs Of Wasseypur is another feather in the hat of this talented filmmaker, echoing all his usual traits and many more.
At the core GOW is a revenge saga. Manoj Bajpai's character (Sardar Khan) has only one ambition in his life, to ruin the man responsible for his father's death Ramadhir Singh, enacted by Tigmanshu Dhulia. Both execute their characters with brilliance but I'd say that Dhulia does manage to outshine Bajpai (only barely) with his portrayal of an intelligent and resourceful capitalist turned politician. Performances by the entire cast is truly superb as they get the diction, body language and look of their characters with great dexterity. Another actor that deserves special mention is Richa Chadda, who plays Bajpai's wife (one of two) and she is an absolute firecracker! Being a city girl, she's managed to get into the skin of the character with such ease, it is truly awesome!
The basic premise sprawls with many additional characters who are either caught in the cross-fire between these two or are aiding the feud. Despite the high count of characters in the movie, each one is given a substantial screen-time (which is more than justified by almost all of them). The prolonged screen-time was possibly the reason the entire movie stretches over five hours and is being released in two parts.
At the core GOW is a revenge saga. Manoj Bajpai's character (Sardar Khan) has only one ambition in his life, to ruin the man responsible for his father's death Ramadhir Singh, enacted by Tigmanshu Dhulia. Both execute their characters with brilliance but I'd say that Dhulia does manage to outshine Bajpai (only barely) with his portrayal of an intelligent and resourceful capitalist turned politician. Performances by the entire cast is truly superb as they get the diction, body language and look of their characters with great dexterity. Another actor that deserves special mention is Richa Chadda, who plays Bajpai's wife (one of two) and she is an absolute firecracker! Being a city girl, she's managed to get into the skin of the character with such ease, it is truly awesome!
The basic premise sprawls with many additional characters who are either caught in the cross-fire between these two or are aiding the feud. Despite the high count of characters in the movie, each one is given a substantial screen-time (which is more than justified by almost all of them). The prolonged screen-time was possibly the reason the entire movie stretches over five hours and is being released in two parts.
The revenge saga spans across three generations (at least the first part does) and as such the narrative delves into the lives of players in each generation for a considerable amount of time, with obvious emphasis being present for Manoj Bajpai's character. With the looting of British goods trains during the pre-independence era to the nationalisation of coal mines in the country to open gang-wars of (near) present day Wasseypur, there is a lot of ground covered in this movie! You'll be best served by paying attention to the narrator as he ties the various timelines and characters together in a single string to make sense of what unfolds on screen, cause if you don't you WILL regret it!
There are a few (mind you VERY few), plot points that seemed a little thin to me, but not completely implausible, so it didn't affect the overall movement of the story. Despite being tagged as a revenge saga, GOW has a very intelligent and thoughtfully complex story seamlessly weaving multiple subplots into the primary tapestry. The aspects of the on-going family feuds, the political and local atmospheres prevalent in the region, the mafioso killings all complement the central plot quite beautifully.
The music and songs of the movie are very much in sync with the tone of the story, the region and the characters and avoids overtly filmy naach-gaana rituals. And the lyrics of some of the songs are indeed quite interesting such as Teri Keh Ke Loonga and Womaniya. They are unique tunes which warrant a listen at least once. In fact I've also bought the soundtrack from an online music store.
If you are like me and enjoy watching movies with a good story and multi-dimensional characters, GOW is definitely worth your hard earned money. With brilliant performances, a substantial plot and great screenplay, GOW is a definite must watch. I'm already counting down to the concluding part in the series.
A solid **** stars!
There are a few (mind you VERY few), plot points that seemed a little thin to me, but not completely implausible, so it didn't affect the overall movement of the story. Despite being tagged as a revenge saga, GOW has a very intelligent and thoughtfully complex story seamlessly weaving multiple subplots into the primary tapestry. The aspects of the on-going family feuds, the political and local atmospheres prevalent in the region, the mafioso killings all complement the central plot quite beautifully.
The music and songs of the movie are very much in sync with the tone of the story, the region and the characters and avoids overtly filmy naach-gaana rituals. And the lyrics of some of the songs are indeed quite interesting such as Teri Keh Ke Loonga and Womaniya. They are unique tunes which warrant a listen at least once. In fact I've also bought the soundtrack from an online music store.
If you are like me and enjoy watching movies with a good story and multi-dimensional characters, GOW is definitely worth your hard earned money. With brilliant performances, a substantial plot and great screenplay, GOW is a definite must watch. I'm already counting down to the concluding part in the series.
A solid **** stars!
