So does lightning strike twice?
Anurag Kashyap would have you believe that. The second part of the desi
gangster saga is here. I was immensely curious to find out if the steamrolling
drama would maintain the pace it had set. It takes a huge skill to do that and
I came away with mixed feelings once again. The concept of GOW 1 was new for
the audience brought up on a steady & redressed diet of Godfather clones;
hence the visuals and appeal of the drama set in the small towns of Bihar had a
tremendous impact. Happily the sequel effortlessly picks up the narrative but
creates a direction of its own. The third generation gangster has evolved from
being a fist fighter and an ice pick stabber to a Ganja smoking (a la Scarface)
wielder of automatic weapons. The geographical boundaries of operation are
redrawn but the principal protagonists in this story of vengeance and the
struggle for dominance & power remain the same. The changed scenario
understandably has new generation characters with quirky traits, hunger for money
and power per se but lack the depth and conviction of the older set. Rather
than a single minded pursuit of revenge as claimed in the promos and its
logical culmination it seems more like a journey on the gravy train with the
declared objective of eliminating opposition popping up only at periodical
intervals. The game plan is missing and perhaps it’s the perennially stoned
psyche of the hero which could be the reason.
Having said that, the roll out of
the events is taut & gripping. Unlike its predecessor there is hardly any
dull moment. One is also partially spared from the barrage of expletives and
whatever is said sounds good. The love play between the main leads is superb
and Huma Qureshi brings the house down with her rustic sexuality. I loved the
mischievous and subtly erotic onscreen banter between the two. In fact the
screenplay is the greatest strength of the movie. Not once does it lose pace or
direction and constantly maintains fidelity with the background of the
characters. The performances of almost everyone are exemplary. Richa Chadha
effortlessly transforms from the hot blooded wife to a sedate widow. Piyush
Mishra seems wasted in the what’s-he-doing-in-the-movie role. The new comers
with crazy names like Definite, Perpendicular and Tangent look the part. And
Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the lotus eater turned gang lord was amazing.
The single biggest difference is
that it lacks the understated menace of latent violence. It’s much grosser
here. Jean clad youngsters brandishing Kalashnikovs look a little out of place.
I’ll prefer the ice pick Bajpayee any day. There seems less method to the wham
bam action which gets gorier with the developing story. I hate to say this but
the climax is overly bloody and reminiscent of the Kill Bill sequences of Tarantino.
And since I am at it, the music was hugely disappointing. Piyush Mishra &
Varun Grover slipped up here. Each song of the earlier version is potentially a
cult classic but here with the exception of the old world sound of “Taar Bijli
Se” and the incredibly loony and foot tapping “Chhi Chha Ledar” all others are
forgettable. Of course these are isolated observations but as a package Kashyap
has pulled it off again. It’s a great watch and effectively stitched but will
remain in the shadow of the first born.
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