A clash between Sultan (a Qureishi dacoit chief) and Shahid Khan (a Pathan who impersonates him) leads to the expulsion of Khan from Wasseypur, and ignites a deadly blood feud spanning three generations.
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Writers: Akhilesh Jaiswal, Anurag Kashyap, 2 more credits »
Stars: Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadda, Nawazuddin Siddiqui | See full cast and crew »
Storyline
Shahid
Khan is exiled after impersonating the legendary Sultana Daku in order
to rob British trains. Now outcast, Shahid becomes a worker at Ramadhir
Singh's colliery, only to spur a revenge battle that passes on to
generations. At the turn of the decade, Shahid's son, the philandering
Sardar Khan vows to get his father's honor back, becoming the most
feared man of Wasseypur.
Movie review
It
has been nearly 5 years since I went and saw a movie first day first
show in the theatres. But such was the level of anticipation with "gangs
of wasseypur" that I found myself standing in front of the ticket
counter at quarter to nine. The movie, which is 160 minutes long, starts
with a shoot-them-up which may be the most authentic shoot-to-kill
scene in Hindi cinema. The movie tells the story of rivalries between
different sects of Muslims: the butchers, Qureshis, and the Pathans,
Khans and extend over a period of three generations. The story starts
from the pre- independence era when the British owned the mines in
Dhanbad. After independence, these mines pass on to the wealthy landlord
who hires an exiled Pathan to act as his strongman. The pathan, the
father of Sardar Khan (Manoj Vajpayee) has been kicked out of his
village, Wasseypur, after a confrontation with the local musclemen, the
Qureshis, and is now forced to work in the mines of Dhanbad. He starts
becoming too big for his shoes and is bumped off by the landlord thus
beginning a series of killings and counter-killings. The acting by the
"star" cast is stunning with Manoj Vajpayee leading the pack in as good
as a performance as "Bheeku Mahatre" in Satya. When he stares lustfully
at the back side of Reema Sen (here resurrected after being in the
wilderness for nearly half a dozen years), you can feel the lust as a
physical thing. He is backed by a very strong ensemble cast. The real
strength of the movie is its dialogues. The words, replete with the
choicest of abuses, feel as if they were wiretapped. The conversation
rings true to life and had me laughing at the sheer vulgarity of it. The
patois is captured very faithfully. The only negative point about the
movie is its length which could have been edited somewhat in the second
half when the third generation takes up (like the long Godfather III, if
you may). Anurag Kashyap has put his soul into the movie and that is
visible from every frame of the movie. The direction is the best I have
seen this year in Hindi cinema and will only increase the expectations
from the second part of this opus. And that is why I am jealous of the
lucky bastards at the Cannes film festival who got to see both the parts
back to back. The movie ends at a tantalizing junction and the prospect
of meeting with these barely lovable characters for a second outing
left me salivating.
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