And so I went to watch Gangs of Wasseypur-2 with a spring in my step and a flutter in my heart as I just couldn’t contain myself anymore. At the risk of sounding kinky, let me say that GOW-1 had left me high and dry, and GOW-2 was a fitting satisfaction personified climax 😉 It started from the same place where GOW- 1 had ended, when Sardar Singh was shot dead. And thus unfolds the saga of revenge battered with blood and violence laced with satire and comedy that is subtle and underplayed. It keeps you entertained even as you keep reaching for cover to shield yourself from the bloodbath on screen.

The movie starts as Sardar Khan’s (played by Manoj Bajpai) sons’ want to avenge his death by wiping off his killers and in return Sultan kills off Sardar Khan’s elder son Danish. Even as the Khan family tries to cope with the loss of the father and the elder son, Anurag Kashyap and Zeishan Quadri make sure they keep you entertained with the band baaja belting out “sorrow”ful songs as passionately as the shaadi waale gaane. Richa Chadda holds her character well in the second part too. The transition of her character is shown so beautifully with a fuller face, under eye circles and orange hair, a trademark of using henna on hair in small towns. And she shows that she is no simpleton widow who will take the death of her son and husband lying down. And here in enters the hero of the film. And only an Anurag Kashyap can think of making a Hero out of a dark, stick-thin man, shirt and lungi clad, paired with rubber chappals. Boy! He has certainly put Bihar on the world map!

Nagma Khatun aka Richa instigates her younger son Nawazuddin Siddiqui to come out of his stupor (as he is a ganja addict) and avenge the father-brother deaths. Like Manoj Bajpai, Faijal (Faisal as pronounced in Bihari) has his own style and he compels you to belt out at least one seeti for his underplayed yet daring demeanor. One by one he starts killing unsuspecting people and quickly rises to be the undisputed king of Wasseypur. Tigmanshu Dhulia aka Ramadhir Singh gives yet another steely performance, adding years to his age very gracefully. He still plays the antagonistic politician with his one-of-a-kind sense of humor, as he cynically says, “Jab tak India mein cinema rahega, tab tak log chu**** bante rahenge“!

And then enter three new characters – Definite, Tangent and Perpendicular. Perpendicular is Sardar Khan’s youngest son and is a treat to watch with his blade-in-the-mouth stunts and the best comes when he says, “talo, tauth krte hain” (chalo, toss krte hain) !! Tangent is Perpendicular’s friend and together they do small looting here and there in Wasseypur, but their friendship is cut short when Sultan and his accomplices kill Perpendicular. Definite (played by Zeishan Quadri) is Durga’s (second wife of Manoj Bajpai, played by Reemma Sen) son, who now works in Ramadhir Singh’s house as a help. He is the surprise package of the film as he keeps double, triple crossing people and groups and goes on a killing spree in Wasseypur. And it is with his help, that Faisal is finally able to get his hands dirty with Ramadhir Singh’s blood.

The scene where Faisal and Ramadhir Singh finally find each other face to face is iconic. Ramadhir Singh with a pistol facing the daredevil Faisal with his automatic machine gun. The scene is superbly sketched out as Ramadhir Singh is in a dilemma to either fight and go down or to just give in. In the end he just sits down to face his destiny as Faisal empties out his entire gun into Ramadhir Singh’s lifeless body and just then, you hear a triumphant, “Teri keh k lunga” in the background!!! And then as Faisal walks off, he leaves behind his foot prints in Ramadhir Singh’s blood. I was totally sold out on this one scene in the movie.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the killing sequence

Huma Quereshi plays Faisal’s wife and she is by far the prettiest new comer this year. She holds on her own very well and shares quite a crackling chemistry with her on-screen husband ;-). There were several wow moments in the movie. One where Richa Chadda is singing, “Taar bijli se patle hamare piya” and towards the end breaks down remembering her own husband is a classic. Then there are a couple of those where Mohsina Khan (Huma Quereshi) sings some Bihari English remixes to entertain Faisal while he is in jail. The lyrics of the song go like, “Frustiyaao nahi, Nervousaao nahi….” and stay with you even after the movie is over. And then the one where Faisal is escaping from an attack on his house and jumps from a building and breaks his leg. It’s another classic scene as he gives out just the correct nuances of a man, in unbearable pain, belting out expletives that you can’t hear and still can understand, crying out in pain and still be silent 🙂

The beautiful Huma Quershi

Nawazzudin Siddiqui shows that he can act and if it were in my capacity, I’d give the National Award to him along with Anurag Kashyap for directing a movie that can be placed at a pedestal that can match the likes of Godfather! The movie is a masterpiece and perfection personified be it the screenplay, story, characterization, background score and songs.

Sneha Khanwalkar deserves a standing applause for the music and background score as she does full justice to the mood of the movie and sets the perfect tone to carry it forward. While “Hunter” and “Teri keh k lunga” took the cake in GOW-1, GOW-2 shines with “Electric Piya”, “Dil chi cha lather” and “Kaala rey”.

I can go on and on praising the movie and its makers, but I guess you guys get the drift. So let me just leave you here to enjoy these songs.
My rating : 5 on 5