Director: Anurag Kashyap Cast: Manoj Bajpai, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Reemma Sen, Richa Chaddha, Pankaj Tripathi

Author’s Rating: 4 / 5

Have you ever wondered how a full blown crime saga akin The Godfather, Once Upon a time in America or Gangs of New York, might have ended up when being bathed with rustic Indian background? Well, add a pinch of Bihari salt and churn it with an incisive revenge plot, you’ll get the highly ambitious and blatantly violent epic called Gangs of Wasseypur.

Paying his homage to directors like Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese, Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur is a sprawling tale ranging over decades of feud and enmity. Sardar Khan (Manoj Bajpai) has only one aim in his life and that is to avenge his father’s death that came from the hands of the Wasseypur coal dealer and Crime Lord, Ramadhir Singh (Tigmanshu Dhulia).

Seems like a regular run-of-the-mill vendetta flick, right? But the dexterity of Anurag Kashyap and the layers of sub plots served with a complex narration keep you engaged when the proceedings are ripe and leave you breathless as the end credits roll down.

Gangs of Wasseypur is a cauldron full of bloodshed which is so acidic in its content that it catches you off guard on countless happenings. It starts slowly with a tad frustrating narration. Stay with it and you will be rewarded with a stunning piece of cinema that gets better and better as it treads on.

Kudos to Anurag Kashyap as he spectacularly handles a movie that is bluntly dark and gritty, and still finds humor in the most unexpected places. The irresistibly witty dialogues keep the heat on a hold while all hell is breaking loose in the streets and nukkads of Wasseypur and Dhanbaad.

Blissed were the audience of the International Film Festival for they saw a complete two and a half hour long GOW. Keeping an eye on the commercial prospects of the movie in India, it is broken into two parts. While pulling off such a wide epic, one must have a terrific ensemble cast.

Manoj Bajpai is terrific and carries out a mind blowing performance while you just sit back and marvel at the brilliance of his portrayal. Pankaj Tripathi who plays the role of Sultan Qureshi is in top notch form. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is breath taking.

Even the bloodshed on the silver screen seemed to be cinematographed with the terrific background score of the movie. The movie falters a bit due to its excessive length which is running over two and a half hours. Some editing in the early narration scenes would have done no harm to the movie. The story line tends to get cold and distant from the viewer as the movie unfolds. But, it is the style for which the movie hits hard. And what terrific style!

Caustic and utterly corrosive in its execution, GOW is a cliché breaker. It pulls all of its punches on a high note and hits hard on the guts. Unabashed gore and unapologetic cuss words may turn some viewers off. But these are the least harmful of all toxins polluting the air of Wasseypur in which even a bird flies with a single wing as the other is used for her own protection, her izzat.

Gangs of Wasseypur is sinister and visually mesmerizing which comes out with all of its guns triumphantly blazing. It is an eloquent statement on the core nature of violence and is pulled off with sheer brilliance by its cast and crew. It is one of the finest crime drama of Indian cinema and adds another gem in Anurag Kashyap’s tapestry. Take a bow!