Jun 24, 2012 10:31 PM
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Anurag Kashyap in an interview said that GOW is his most masala movie yet. Well, the result is yes or no. Yes because the movie seems like a masala movie with the larger than life characters, linear narrative, unnecessary violence and song and dances, melodrama etc. But does it entertain like a masala movie. Certainly not.
I always thought of Anurag Kashyap as a self indulgent director who makes movies for himself and not for the audience. Well, I really loved and enjoyed Black Friday which kept me hooked throughout its length, but his other movie were too individualistic and complex for my liking. When I saw the promos of Gangs of Wasseypur I was really excited that this is one movie which will give the audience back the Anurag of Black Friday rather than the Anurag of The girl in Yellow Boots and also that this is one movie which will give Manoj Bajpayee his due. I was proved wrong in the 1st case but I was proved right in the 2nd case. The movie certainly gives Manoj Bajpai a role of his acting calibre which he makes full use of.
So why does this movie not work. There are certainly some good things about the movie, but the negative things overpower whatever is good in the movie that this finally appears as a half cooked biryani.
The story starts in Preindependence India when Dhanbad was a part of Bengal after which it became a part of Bihar. The movie is about the rise of the coal mafia in Wasseypur, a small town in Bihar. The other story is a revenge saga about how Manoj Bajpai(Sardar Khan) avenges the death of his father(Shahid Khan). The movie starts off in 2004 with a gunbattle. Then the movie rewinds back to pre independence era with the story of Shahid Khan who worked for Tigmanshu Dhulia(Ramadheer Singh). The narrator of the story is Piyush Mishra who plays the role of Sardar Singhs right hand.
The movie stars of very well, but as the movie progresses, the screenplay becomes weaker and fails to hold your attention. The film is an all men show but here the actresses have better written characters and dialogues than the actors. Especially Richa Chaddha as the wife of Sardar Singh gives a wonderful performance and has the best dialogues in the movie and hers is the best written role in the film. The script has many flaws and there are many loopholes in the screenplay.
Manoj Bajpai has a meaty role, but there are too many unnecessary grey shades to his character given. Many a times his actions are unjustified like the way he goes on butchering Pehelwans etc. Also his relationship with Reema Sen(who works as a maid in his house) is extremely weak and slows down the movie. Among the male characters the best written role is of Ramadheer Singh played superbly by Tighmanshu Dhulia who makes an impact with less dialogues. Piyush Mishra is ok. He was better in Gulaal where he had a better role too. Here he just blindly supports Manoj Bajpai throughout with nothing else to do. Nawaziddin Siddiqui as Manoj Bajpais son is wasted in a a cameo. One is disappointed by his performance especially after such a fine performance in Kahaani. His scene with his lady love towards the end evokes unintentional laughter. One wonders why did he have to accept such a third fiddle role.
The music and background music by Sneha Khanwilkar are the sole redeeming factors of the movie along with the fabulous cinematography. But none of this is of any use if there isnt any dum in the script. The director has failed to tell the dumdaar story convincingly onscreen. No smartness in the movie.
Overall GOW is a lost attempt because of a fizzled out 2nd half. I would prefer a Feraari ki Sawaari anyday over GOW. Anurag proves that the cult Black Friday was just a flash in the pan. And no, I am not waiting for GOW especially after the dangerous warning given in this exhausting movie.
