Tripping at the Movies - Gangs of Wasseypur 2

Gangs of Wasseypur 2 is a joy train on an incredible journey commanded by Anurag Kashyap. Okay, it might be a long train but when you need to carry huge supporting cast of two warring mafia families, exploding bombs, crackling AK-47s, decapitated bodies,  slashing blades, spurting blood, some more gore, unending expletives, awesome soundtrack, startling sound effects, Definite,  Perpendicular and Tangent,  the journey turns out to be spectacular. It makes you want to buy season tickets for the journey.

When you don’t get tickets for the 10pm show on the fourth night of the release in an area teeming with multiplexes, you get a feeling that something special is playing and you don’t want to settle for Dark Knight Rises. You drive to the next multiplex praying and get seats for a later show. You feel the buzz at the box office counter and as you walk into the theatre. Most people have seen the first part. Yours truly is going straight to the part 2.

The movie grabs you from the first scene and does not let up. It is all grit, grime, goons and guns. The characters, the settings, the language, the behaviour is all spot on. How many Hindi movies will have a mother exhort her son to take revenge and kill the killers of her husband. And when the mother sings the song Kaala Re, you realise that you have’nt had so much fun at the movies in a long time.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Faizal gives a powerhouse performance. He had already impressed in Kahaani. His journey from a junkie to the feared don is alone to carry the movie to greatness. Every supporting cast member impresses. You want separate movies for Definite and Perpendicular.

You know the director has the viewers hooked when the audience actually cheers & applauds as the AK47 shreds the chief rival’s body. You cringed couple of times in the beginning, but now you are enjoying the mayhem.  The body count goes up. The line between criminals and non-criminals blurs and we cheer for the lesser criminals. You actually feel for Faizal and start rooting for him.

Anurag Kashyap pays his homage to Hindi Cinema. Faizal repents that instead of becoming Amitabh Bachchan, the superstar, he has become Shashi Kapoor, a sidekick. Perpendicular watches Maine Pyaar Kiya and Definite sings its songs. Hardened criminals watch DDLJ. Ramadhari Singh, the rival chieftain, credits his outliving three generations of Khans on not watching films. Huma watches Mamta Kulkarni gyrate. Anurag brings back the brass band from Dev D to sing Teri Meharbaniyan - Priceless.

In my view Dev D was Anurag Kashyap’s best effort and thought he will not be able to better it. With GOW 2 he has outdone himself.  He is India’s answer to Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and Francis Ford Coppola, all combined. You can feel how much Anurag and the cast enjoyed making this movie.

Go watch the movie in the theatres to support the new coming of Hindi Cinema. Directors like Anurag Kashyap, Tigmanshu Dhulia and Dibakar Banerjee need our support. You will feel plain exhilaration and pride for the new age directors for concocting such heady mixes.