Movie Review: Gangs of Wasseypur 2

Anurag Kashyap pulls out all the stops in his finale to the sweeping six-decade saga of two warring gangs in the boondocks of Dhanbad and peppers the film with edgy action and black humour. Gangs of Wasseypur 2 is more violent and disturbing than what went before. For precisely that reason, it is often more riveting than GOW 1.

To the squeamish, the bloodshed may seem excessive, if not gratuitous. But the director, while focusing squarely on the vengeance drama, locates the no-holds-barred tussle for the spoils of a range of illicit businesses in the coal belt in its socio-political context.

Following the death of Sardar Khan, the saga jumps forward to the 1990s and beyond, and the bloodied mantle passes to his sons – four from his wedded wife and one from his mistress. The motley siblings – one is called Perpendicular, another is named Definite – struggle against each other and their sworn rivals to retain control over Wasseypur.

Their weapons are now far more destructive and the methods of killing more chilling. So the casualties are high on both sides. In this masculine environment, the women have less to do than in the first part, but their roles are anything but insignificant. Mohsina (Huma Quraishi), now married to the weed-addicted Faizal Khan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), Sardar Khan’s widow Naghma (Richa Chadda) and his mistress Durga (Reema Sen) serve as triggers for many of the film’s plot twists.

The acting is first-rate: so impeccably well cast are the actors that none of them seem to be playing a role. Nawazuddin delivers a powerful star turn without ever seeking to break free from the defined yet flexible parameters of his character.