Exhilarating experience. Review on Gangster

Hindi cinema has often been accused of not deviating from the much-used-and-abused four/five plots since the past few decades. In that respect,Gangster explores new horizons. In a majority of cases, love stories in India have a feel-good end, but in this case,the ending is quite tragic!

Simran (Kangna Ranaut) spends her days and nights drinking whisky and seeking emotional comfort in the company of Akash (Emraan Hashmi), a small-time singer in a Seoul club. Akash knows something is eating Simran deep inside. The truth is revealed to him one night by Simran herself.

The movie goes into flashback. We learn that Simran was a bar dancer living in a Mumbai chawl. One day, a gangster named Daya (Shiney Ahuja) runs into her house and hides there while escaping from the cops on his trail. No words are spoken between Daya and Simran. But a connection is made.

After that night of unspoken words, Daya begins to go to the dance bar just to watch Simran. One day he saves Simran from a couple of unruly guys .From that moment Simran starts living with Daya. But it is not the life she had dreamt of.

Being a criminal, Daya is always on the run and she has to run with him. Even Daya’s godfather Khan (Gulshan Grover) warns him to dump the girl, but Daya refuses to ditch Simran and instead earns the wrath of Khan.

Simran tries to have a semblance of normal life by foster mothering an adopted child named Bittu. But one day, Bittu is shot dead in an encounter between cops and Daya.

Daya goes into hiding in Mauritius, while Simran lives a dysfunctional life of an alcoholic in Seoul.

After hearing Simran’s story, Akash begins to love her even more and promises to take her out of the mire she is wallowing in. He promises her a decent future. In a moment of weakness, the two end up making love in the bed.

It is then Daya makes an entry and bashes Akash. Daya confesses his true love to Simran and promises he would quit his crime world for her. On the other hand, Akash wants her to come with him to India.

Simran now has to make a choice.

The best part of the enterprise is that it moves on one single track, not deviating into sub-plots or breaking into songs when not needed.The initial portions establish the three lead characters' contrasting behavioural patterns carefully, since that lays the foundation for things to follow. The moment Kangana narrates her flashback to Emraan then she gradually develops a liking for him and subsequently Shiney catching them .

The middle and subsequent passages of the flick are handled with convincing psychological realism. Shiney realising Kangana has fallen in love with Emraan , just before the interval, and his slipping out of crime world subsequently has been handled with utmost sensitivity.

The post-interval portions are akin to walking on a tightrope with exhilarating ride. The portions thereafter are spellbinding and the viewer keeps wondering, what will be the outcome of this love story? In that context, the climax is perfect and the end is appropriate.

As a writer, Anurag Basu deserves full marks for not deviating from the main plot. Each of the three characters is different from one another. But the narrative, which is devoid of clich tends to get heavy in the latter portions and lack of relief compounds the problem.

As a director, basu has extracted commendable performances from the main cast, but the treatment of the subject is city-centric. However, he shows sparks of brilliance in scenes that demand intensity. A laudable effort indeed!

Music, to put it simply, is mind-blowing. The best song of the enterprise is undoubtedly 'tu hi mera'. The choreography is outstanding and the execution is fabulous.

Two more numbers stand out –ya ali and lamha – which is a love making song. Cinematography is competent. Dialogues are natural.

Shiny delivers a dynamic performance. Undoubtedly, one of the finest performances of the last 5 years, the actor makes the implausible look plausible – that effective is he. He is incredible in the initial reels and also during the airport portions

Emraan is as confident as ever. Kangana is first-rate.

On the whole,Gangster is a well-made film, which is targeted at the metros. The songs and bravura performances are two aces of this flick. If you are craving for something different, this film is for you. Go for it!