Gangs of Wasseypur II: A Bit Underwhelming

The major undoing for GoW II is that it is separated from GoW I or may be it was never a great idea to make this into two parts in the first place. The second installment of this bloody saga often evokes a sense of “been there seen that” in the first edition. With no real pace in the story, even the swearing seems to have lost the shock value it once used to have and the dialogue seems to resort to Bollywood references when nothing else works, which in hindsight are the only breathers in this saga of revenge.

Nawaz’s Faizal Khan is a brilliantly played role but still is a bit less captivating when compared to Bajpayee’s Sardar Khan. It is amazing to see the actor embrace the role with all its idiosyncrasies but Faizal Khan comes across as rather a weak character who at one point rues his father’s decision to return to Wasseypur. The antagonist Ramadheer also is weakened with age but still manages to get people killed at will in the narrative. There is endless flow of blood with gunshots fired at an alarming regularity. Kashyap’s direction if indulgent in the first turns cold in the second and gives a matter of fact account of the events that unfold on screen.  Also there are at least a couple of subplots that can be trimmed which had also been an issue with GoW 1.

The bloody climax is a fitting end to the film and Keh Ke Loonga track returns to make it the best moment in the film but it comes an hour too late. The first half of this particular film does not have enough interesting moments though it shows the rise of Faizal from a pothead to one in charge of the family. In contrast GoW I has certain edginess and a morbid charm, which are quite amiss in the second.

What save the film from becoming a snooze fest are the terrific performances put in by the cast and a brilliant soundtrack. Tigmanshu Dhulia continues to delight in his role and could have given more screen time while Nawaz literally lives the character. Huma Qureshi as the feisty wife in gaudy attires, Pankaj Tripathi with a terrific screen presence as Sultan and Richa Chadha as the woman who ignitesa revenge and keeps it alive in the family excel in their roles. The new comers put in decent performances but their relative unfamiliarity to the screen can evoke indifference. Even the cinematography, sound track and Background music are not quite up to the standards set by GoW I. Production design as we noted earlier was inconsistent with again only Bollywood references to establish various periods.

In all Gangs of Wasseypur is not quite the epic Anurag Kashyap envisioned it to be. It had its moments of pure brilliance and we will pick up more of them with repeated viewings, but this one certainly is not the best work by the auteur. It is a bit underwhelming for a film that generated such a buzz at Cannes.