Gangs of Wasseypur II is one of the best movie experiences Ive ever had for an Indian film. Its an experience, which cant even be described by a four-letter word in the English language. (You decide which one). I expected it to be better than the previous film and I was still surprised by how good it was. The problem with the first film was never the pacing but the screenplay. It was just that it had dull moments. Some of those moments will be better seen in the context of the whole. Part II with a similar runtime has not a single dull moment. I dont usually make juvenile statements like the one Im just about to make, but if you think it does, then the only logical explanation I can think of is that your eye must have been stabbed with a knife.
We saw Sardar Khans (Manoj Bajpayee) story in the first outing and now its Faizal Khans (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) turn to try his hand at a bit of the old *keh ke lena*. Sardar Khan got sidetracked in his quest for vengeance against Ramadhir Singh (Tigmanshu Dhulia) and baton got passed on to the youngest son.
Anurag Kashyap decided to make The Godfather Part II first and now pays tribute to the film that several Indian filmmakers from Mani Ratnam to Ram Gopal Varma to Prakash Jha have tried to puke out of their systems. A story goes that the producers of The Godfather werent happy with Coppolas choice of casting Al Pacino. Then the scene where we see Michael killing for the first time was shot, which changed their minds entirely. Faizal gets a similar scene. Only it has a hilarious dialogue about him thinking his father was like Sanjeev Kumar, and he thought he would be Amitabh Bachchan but turned out to be Shashi Kapoor. From then on you look at the skinny ganja-smoking Faizal differently and so do the townsfolk. There is a shot of the ganja smoke and the camera slowly bathing in it. He has two brothers: Perpendicular and Definite. Why was that shot there? Why were these names chosen? Well thats because Tarantino decided to call it Inglourious Basterds and not Inglorious Bastards. (Still dont get it? Ill spell it out for you: Its f*****g cool)
Nawazuddin Siddiqui announces his arrival as a major actor with his powerhouse performance. Zeishan Quadri lends his diabolical eyes to the character of Definite. Another revelation is Huma Qureshi who plays Mohsina. How gorgeous is this woman? I was absolutely floored by her few scenes in the first part and wanted to call dibs on her but now shes going to be catching every guys eye(ahem)balls. Richa Chadda sings Taar Bijli and she remembers her husband/ past and goes into a reverie. For that scene alone, she should be handed every best supporting actress award already. She now has our permeesun to say: *I can act better than any young actress in Bollywood even with my eyes closed*.
While my eyes were being shown blood fountains, the soundtrack gave me eargasms amidst the constant bullet showers. The music is not just better in the second installment but also used better. Take for example how the song Kaala Rey has 2 intervals, Moora plays thrice and always in a different situation and my favorites: Taar Biji/Electric Piya and Keh Ke Lunga dubstep. Sneha Khanwalkar joins the pantheon of the best young musicians of our country alongside Amit Trivedi. The future of Hindi film music is safe in these super talented hands.
My absolute favorite sequence in the film is the four-way cellphone homicide virtuoso when Definite has to kill Sultan (the second villain). Apart from the fact that the duology works better as a whole. Now we are emotionally involved as well. You see revenge in movies these days as just an act of cold-blooded vengeance, as an obsession. This film carries it out as an act of destiny. It becomes an aim with its own hurdles and a test of endurance.
My personal test of a good revenge film is when it makes me say the following phrase to the villain in my head: *Die mother**** die!* I decided Ramadhir should suffer the same fate when he said he doesnt watch movies and gave reasons for it. We have witnessed revenge in movies, exacted in many ways but this is something Ive always wanted to see. THIS IS IT. Yes it is graphic, yes it may even be highly messed up but this is the penultimate movie revenge. Yes, this film refused to stop being awesome.
Most filmmakers are inspired by Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. Some get influenced and want to make similar cinema. Most end up looking stupid while doing it without any understanding of their craft and *why* they use violence but only *how* they use it (or not even that). Anurag Kashyap is the only one who could be called Scorsese and Tarantinos love childlove child. Best part? He looks f*****g cool while he does it. It is quite simply one of the best films ababout revenge (in any language). If revenge is a dish best served cold, Anurag Kashyap informs us its also best eaten slow.
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