Gangs of Wasseypur movie review : Unapologetic cinema at its best

Gangs of Wasseypur

Starring: Manoj Bajpai, Jaideep Ahlawat, Richa Chadda, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Reemma Sen & others

At: PVR & others

Rated: 8.5/10

Gangs of Wasseypur is not just any movie you go to for weekend fun. It is a treatise of violence, a slice of realtime history, a saga of relentlessness and a soiree of such potent sights and sounds that it grips you with the same insanity as libido and revenge grip its main protagonist Sardar Singh.

The violence here is in your face. It is stark, pervasive, uncompromising and blood-stained. Yes, it makes you cringe. Yet, very strangely, it stops short of repelling you. It is not surreptitious but cunning enough to sidestep allegations of sensationalism. You could call it a picture perfect genre of savagery drawn out of blood-stained swords, firing guns and mean men by Kashyap’s skillful measurement and elan. It is, in a way, his best tribute to his diligence to dark, edgy, real and unapologetic cinema.

Unfolding in an under-the-weather coal town of Dhanbad and telling the story all the way back from pre-Independence days, not once does it sag in narrative. It tells you — without sparing you the blushes — how the big fish have always preyed on the small fish; how, whether it is the British administrators, their Indian counterparts, the contractors, the trade unionists or the local mafia — it has always been about making money at the expense of the poor workers.

Though the film is overwhelmingly grey both in locale and content, Kashyap keeps the potency of the script on a perpetual crescendo and yet does not feel the need to go overboard even once. Directors like Ram Gopal Varma can learn from him how to walk the tightrope of naked brutality and make it acceptable.

Not just brutality, GOW comes wrapped in a very earthy dose of unabashed, almost shameless, very unlike Kashyap humour that characterises not just the region from where it emanates but also its men and women.

The only aspect which is perhaps more brilliant than the wholesomeness of this gripping saga is Manoj Bajpai. As Sardar Singh, he gives a whole new meaning to sharpness, vehemence, audaciousness, impertinence, intensity, relentlessness, fierceness and, of course, libidinous portrayal of a man who can’t just stop having sex.

But it is Kashyap’s stunning worship of  balance that despite such a powerhouse performance, Bajpai is not allowed to run away with the film. Every character, and there are 350 on record, makes his and her presence felt. Be it the crackler of a wife played by Richa Chaddha who chases him out of a brothel with his lungi down but then allows him to make out elsewhere with a warning that his performance should not shame her, or the sexually overt bangalan (Remma Sen) other woman who’s fatal charms lure Sardar even in his old age — everyone has a very distinct purpose in this film. And that purpose is to enhance the drama into a highend reality cinema, aided and abetted by a livewire script, heady music, sleazy but alluring lyrics (Teri keh ke loonga is the best), bawdy dialogues and a director who seems obsessed to make you love his view of life.

And yes you love it his way. The fact that you wanted all those 5 plus hours to stretch into a no-break film tells you how much of a gutsy and compelling force Anurag has unleashed from his cinematic armoury.

Also, a huge round of applause to composer Sneha Khanwalkar who has rendered a powerhouse of regional sounds and beats that take your heart for being so earthy.

Source: The Sunday Pioneer, 24 June, 2012