For the longest of time I wanted to write a review, tried too, but always failed. I love movies but when it comes to writing, I have no clue how to proceed. Yes, I got the movie and maybe loved it too but how do I write about it? anyway here's giving it another shot, not sure if I'll make it through.
Just to start off, Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur, completely blew me off. I was lost in the crazy gunda-world of waseypur for a good couple of hours. But as I looked back at the movie a day later I had a bit of an altered perspective..well I still loved it though. The amount of content that the director manages to show in 5 hours 20 mins, it is beyond amazing, and he does it bloody brilliantly. Even as a viewer you're completely taken aback by what all happens in these god damn 160 minutes!!! And I guess that is what makes the film really hard to analyze. But looking back there's a huge feeling of something unsettling in the entire movie. The narrative seems a bit broken, the writers somehow can't take that one plot and carry it all the way through. I have to say its a bit disturbing, It's like a lot of characters have pretty strong motives but by the time it ends, most of them are left without a conclusion. But then again, this might be the beauty of the whole writing process. Because as they claim it to be a realistic take, well maybe it is, life ain't a movie, its rather a messy affair where most stories are without an ending.
Kashyap's movies be it Gulaal or DevD and now even Wasseypur, have a very strong sense of being lost. The story, the characters don't have that one motive or that singular mindset. They just keep doing things, some make sense and well some don't. At a lot of times.. you'd go 'what the fuck are they doing?' This is pretty opposite to a lot of cinema where the grip is always there, the characters on screen are doing exactly what they are supposed to, but Kashyap rather takes and alternate part and decides to play with them, explore them, explore their surroundings. This can get a bit irritating, but the whole sense of being lost eventually gets you. It takes time, but you realize thats probably the most exciting part of a Kashyaps movie. The whole idea of a knowing not just the story but the entire freaking ecosystem is what Kashyap gifts his audience. All of it doesn't make sense, but the thing is it doesn't even need it.
This leading to the most exciting part of Wasseypur, the kind of detail that the writers and director succeed is beyond amazing. These are not just details limited to a certain character, they are details that talk about ideas and beliefs and systems of northern india that have exited of years. Having been brought up in north, I could get most of it an have to say I enjoyed it to the core. Gives you a feeling of revisiting the way, cities were while I grew up.
The entire story has been adapted beautifully in an ultimate stylish way. The way the characters talk to their women or enemies or subordinates, it is, i have to say awesome. Never have actors in Indian cinema looked so cool, and cool not just by their glares or designer clothes.. cool in the real fucking indian sense. If you belong to this part of the world, you will definitely relate to this kind of dry humour. It is part of us, this is how we talk.. and getting your characters to do that on screen, deserves a huge applaud.
Anyway, I'll refrain from talking about the entire screenplay and the acting and the music and the editing and cinematography, because all of it fucking kickass stuff. I don't need to say it. It's delicious delicious food.
The only word that I can assign to the movie is 'unique'.. the movie is beyond the whole idea of calling it good or bad. I'm not so sure I can call it a masterpiece or a real ambitious failed work, definitely not the latter. The reason being, we are not used to it. I haven't seen a movie of this kind, ever before. A socio-gangster drama with a LOT of fun. So yeah judging it on existing scales won't work. It is not an easy movie to appreciate, it takes time. You require time to make peace with the whole thing. Well, to say the least what Kashyap manages to do, is create an almost new genere of gangster cinema. Because if you know india, and the mafia at ground level isn't organized, my boy. They are bunch of wild animals, with guns just looking to have fun!
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