Anurag Kashyap / India / 2012 / 156 min
While last week’s Hyderabad bombing was India’s first such attack since September 2011, Anurag Kashyap’s resplendently ferocious Gangs of Wasseypur shows how for some Indians violence is a daily occurrence. When the future politician Ramadir Singh (Tigmanshu Dhulia) kills Sardar Khan’s (Manoj Bajpayee) father, the young boy’s ascent into adulthood in pursuit of revenge moves through extortion, racketeering and murder, turning him into a legend of Wasseypur’s criminal underworld.
Although the film opens with scenes of carnage in 2004, the narrative jumps backwards to the British control of India, their subsequent relinquishment and the following scrabble for political and industrial control by Indians. Like Wasseypur’s many wealth bringing coalmines, there’s a murky determination to Sardar’s ruthlessness as he cuts his criminal teeth on burgeoning political class. The gangster’s poverty; their use of knives, sabres and homemade guns and their shantytown existence heavily contrasts with the plush, opulent surroundings of Ramadir’s home, emphasising the status divide between them. The father figure’s role is explored through both Sardar and Ramadir; Sardar’s consuming vengeance resulting in him ignoring his own sons and Ramadir constantly blaming his. Scenes of grisly brutality and industrial ugliness juxtapose seductive images of The Orient; luxurious saris and ancient buildings nestled in amongst the tropical landscape. This is a merging of worlds that’s as engulfing as it is horrifying.
Showing as part of the Glasgow Film Festival 2013
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