Gangs of Wasseypur
Tags: mystery, murder, cult, violence, action, revenge, entertaining

Plot synopsis:
A gang of heavily armed men scour and finally narrow down on a house in Wasseypur. They surround the house and unleash a wave of bullets and grenades on it with the intention of killing the family inside it. After heavy firing on the house, they retreat from the crime scene in a vehicle, convinced they have killed everyone within. The leader of the gang then calls one J.P. Singh on his cell phone and reports that the family have been successfully executed but he is double crossed by JP Singh as a fire fight erupts between them and a police check post blocking their escape route. The scene cuts abruptly for a prologue by the narrator, Nasir.
=== Introduction of Wasseypur and Dhanbad ===
Nasir's narration describes the history and nature of Wasseypur. During the British Raj, Wasseypur and Dhanbad were located in the Bengal region. After India gained its independence in 1947, they were carved out of Bengal and redistricted into the state of Bihar in 1956. In 2000, Wasseypur and Dhanbad were redistricted for a second time into the newly formed state of Jharkhand where they remain. The village has been historically dominated by the Qureshi Muslims, a sub-caste of animal butchers who are feared by the non-Qureshi Muslims living there and Dhanbad by extension.
During British colonial rule, the British had seized the farm lands of Dhanbad for coal which began the business of coal mining in Dhanbad. The region was a hotbed of the local faceless dacoit Sultana Qureshi who robbed British trains in the night and thus held some patriotic value for the locals.
=== 1940s ===
Shahid Khan (Jaideep Ahlawat), a Pathan, takes advantage of the mysteriousness of the faceless dacoit Sultana, a Qureshi, by impersonating his identity to rob British ferry trains. The Qureshi clans eventually find out and order the banishment of Shahid Khan and his family from Wasseypur. They settle down in Dhanbad where Shahid begins work as a labourer in a coal mine. He is unable to be at his wife's side during childbirth, and she dies. The enraged Shahid kills the coal mine's muscleman who had denied him leave on that day. In 1947, independent India begins to assert its authority over itself. The British coal mines are sold to Indian industrialists and Ramadhir Singh (Tigmanshu Dhulia) receives a few coal mines in the Dhanbad region. He hires Shahid Khan as the new muscleman of one of the coal mines. Shahid terrorises the local population to seize their lands and extract compliance.
On a rainy day, Ramadhir Singh overhears Shahid's ambitions of taking over the coal mines from him. Singh tricks Shahid into traveling to Varanasi for business but instead has him murdered by an assassin named Yadav. Nasir (Piyush Mishra), Shahid's cousin, finds Ramadhir's umbrella with his initials near the door and concludes that Ramadhir eavesdropped on their conversation. He flees from the house with Shahid's son Sardar in the nick of time as Ehsaan Qureshi (Vipin Sharma), another associate of Ramadhir Singh and a member of the Wasseypur Qureshi clan, shows up to kill them but is too late. An unsuccessful Ehsaan lies to Singh that Shahid's family has been murdered, burnt, and buried. Under the care of Nasir, Sardar grows up along with Nasir's son Asgar (Jameel Khan). Sardar learns the truth about his father's death, upon which he shaves his head and vows not to grow his hair until he has avenged his father's murder.
=== Early and Mid 1970s ===
The coal mines are nationalised. A mature Sardar Khan (Manoj Bajpai) and his kin start hijacking Ramadhir's coal trucks mid-transit. Ramadhir Singh suspects S.P. Sinha, a Coal India official, to be behind the hijackings and has him murdered. After Sinha's murder, Ramadhir's reputation for ruthlessness grows, and he becomes feared in Dhanbad.
Sardar marries Nagma Khatoon (Richa Chadda). The pregnant Khatoon confronts Sardar Khan and a prostitute inside a brothel and chases him away. Later, Nagma gives birth to Danish Khan but gets pregnant immediately afterwards. Unable to have sex with a pregnant Nagma, Sardar confesses his sexual frustrations with his kin. At dinner, Nagma gives her consent to Sardar to sleep with other women but with the condition that he won't bring them home or dishonour the family name.
Sardar, Asgar and Nasir start working for J.P. Singh (Satya Anand), Ramadhir Singh's son. They misuse their employment by secretly selling the company petrol in the black market. Later, they rob a petrol pump and a train bogey belonging to the Singh family. They usurp Singh's land, which forces the two families to confront each other for talks. The meeting ends in a scuffle, but Ramadhir Singh realizes that Sardar Khan is in fact the son of Shahid Khan who he had murdered in the late 1940s. Sardar and Asghar are jailed for assaulting J.P. Singh during the meeting.
=== Early 1980s ===
Sardar and Asgar escape from jail. While hiding in Wasseypur, Sardar marries a Bengali Hindu woman named Durga (Reema Sen). Asgar informs Nagma that Sardar has taken a second wife, leaving Nagma helpless. Meanwhile, Wasseypur has merged with Dhanbad and the Qureshi clan continues to terrorise the non-Qureshi Muslims. The locals then approach Sardar Khan for help as he was well known for standing up to Ramadhir Singh. During Muharram, both Shias and Sunnis are out mourning, including the Qureshi clan. Sardar uses the opportunity to launch a major bomb attack on many Qureshi shops and houses. When word spreads about Sardar's raids, his reputation grows and he commands more fear than the Qureshi clan.
Eventually, Sardar returns home to Nagma and she gets pregnant again. Sardar tries to initiate sex with a pregnant Nagma but she refuses, which prompts an angry Sardar to leave. He goes to stay with his second wife, Durga, and she gives birth to his son, Definite Khan. Ramadhir Singh, noticing that Sardar has abandoned his first family, tries to reach out to Nagma through Danish by giving him money. An enraged Nagma beats Danish for taking the money while she breaks down in front of Nasir. A thirsty Faizal wakes up in the middle of the night to find Nagma and Nasir about to have sex. Angry, he storms out of the house and becomes a stoner, permanently seen with his chillum. Nasir reveals that the desires were never consummated, but Faizal and Nasir never see eye to eye again.
=== Mid and Late 1980s ===
Sensing Sardar's increasing clout, Ramadhir calls his old associate Ehsaan Qureshi who brokers a meeting between Sultan Qureshi and Ramadhir Singh where the two decide to become allies against their common enemy, Sardar. Sultan asks Ramadhir for modern automatic weapons which the latter promises to give.
=== 1990s ===
Sardar becomes the most feared man in Wasseypur and shifts his business to stealing iron ore. Danish Khan joins the family business. A failed attack from Sultan Qureshi leaves Danish with a minor injury and causes reconciliation between Sardar and Nagma. Sardar finds Ramadhir and warns him of terrible consequences if anything ever happens to his family.
A mature Faizal (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is seriously affected by Bollywood movies as he starts behaving, talking and dressing like Bollywood characters. Sardar sends Faizal to Varanasi to buy guns, but Faizal is caught by the police and jailed. Upon release, he kills the gun seller Yadav, who unbeknownst to Faizal was the nameless assassin who had killed Shahid Khan (Faizal's grandfather) and who had implicated Faizal to police earlier. Meanwhile, Sardar seizes a lake belonging to a local temple and charges commission on fish sellers who make a catch in that lake. An uneasy peace is maintained between the Qureshi and Khan families when Danish Khan marries Shama Parveen, the sister of Sultan Qureshi. At the same time, Faizal begins romancing Mohsina Hamid (Huma Qureshi), another kin of Sultan.
Faizal reveals to a friend that his father Sardar would be travelling without security the next day. Late that night, while Faizal is still asleep, his friend calls up the Qureshis and tells them that Sardar's bodyguards wouldn't be with him the next day. The next morning, Sardar leaves home alone and reaches Durga's house where he gives her her expense allowance. Once Sardar leaves, Durga also calls up the Qureshis and tells them that he has just left her house. The Qureshi men follow Sardar's car, and when the latter stops at a petrol pump to refuel they start shooting as Sardar ducks in the car for cover. The Qureshi men put several close rounds through the car window ensuring a precise & unmistakable hit, after which they escape. A shocked Sardar opens the car door and stands up to reveal multiple bullet wounds, with one bullet embedded in his head. He steps out with his gun drawn trying to locate the shooters but he eventually collapses to his death on a ferry cycle.

Review: Yes, its true.Scorsese and Tarantino are there in Bollywood too,Anurag Kashyap surely belongs to that class.A Movie which gives you the raw look of everything love,ambition,politics,revenge,comedy, this movie has everything in it.I was expecting another disappointment with another Bollywood movie but right from first scene this movie blew me away.
A saga which has all the ingredients of a cult cinema like black humor, full mouthed characters, adultery, bullets,vengeance and everything you expect in a film by Anurag Kashyap.En route to end of British Raj in India, Shahid Khan, a dacoit, loots the British trains, masquerading as Sultana Daku, is shot dead by Ramadhir Singh's goon.
I think he is one of the most underrated actors, has now got an opportunity to flaunt himself in GOW II(I saw the trailer of Part II after the credit rolled).Rest of the cast Piyush Mishra, Pankaj Tripathi, Huma Quershi(debut-She looks ravishing while persuading the theater's security guard for the second show of the movie "Trishul") and others are so authentic that you will easily relate the characters with North India (Bihar), the dialects, the dialogue delivery, the expressions are genuine.The music by Sneha Khanwalkar is down to earth, a triumph, it has the rustic soul and is very unique.
GOW is a superb film which needs to be watched by anyone and everyone who has the slightest of respect and love for films and filmmaking.Sneha Khawalker's rockingtingly superb music brings a whole new level of excitement in the film and Rajeev Ravi's cinematography is very very efficient, sprinkled with quite a few shots of sheer brilliance.All this make a nice, superbly tasty biryani and the credit can only go the masterchef Mr.Anurag Kashyap.8/10, and I'd defo recommend all my friends to go and watch this film in CINEMAS!.
It is not the typical Indian movie with lot of dancing and typical good guy as lead character.Watching Gang of Wasseypur is like watching The Godfather instead of watching Indian movies.The main core of the story is almost similar with The Godfather, but overall with the Indian aspect in it, the story is different.
So there is little bit history lesson of India there, which is cool.The character is very different with the Godfather counterpart, Sardar Khan is not like Vito Corleone, he is more violence and kinda selfish, although their core story almost similar.
Co-written and directed by Anurag Kashyap, this film will probably propel the filmmaker into the ranks occupied by the likes of Coppola and Scorsese in crafting Mafia styled epics, filled with the themes of brotherhood, revenge, betrayal, sex and violence.
Showcased at this year's Cannes Directors' Fortnight with its sequel screened back to back, Kashyap has brought forth a sprawling, three generation span long tale of the titular Gangs of the coal mining town, where three crime families engage one another for infamy, riches and power supremacy.And what he had done to provide some gravitas to this tale, was a semi-documentary look at its background against the town of Wasseypur, where we witness how the wheelings and dealings between shady businessmen and their workers, and how some become politicians through bullying, gangster tactics, the laundering of money, and eventually buying support to ascend the political ladder.
But jealously meant Ramandhir's orders to get rid of Shahid, and thus opening up the feud to the second generation, led by Sardar Khan (Manoj Bajpai) who is hell bent on revenge.But in a tragi-comedy sort of way, the character of Sardar is somewhat tough on the outside with his ruthlessness, but all soft and fuzzy inside with his libido being lacking in control, with first wife Nagma (Richa Chadda) being relatively tolerant of his gallivanting ways only because she gets pregnant too easily, and the introduction of a Bengali girl Durga (Reema Sen) whom he met while on the run.
This sets up the third generation of cast with Sardar's sons Danish (Vineet Singh) and Faizal (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), with a hint on what's to come disrupt his family dynamics with illegitimate son Definite, entering the picture, whom we'll see more of in the next film whose trailer gets airtime right after the end credits.
And what makes it interesting in the entire male dominated world, is the story of the women behind the men, as seen from the major character arcs on Sardar's family involved in romance of some sort, playing critical roles in defining the male characters and contrasting them in both their private and public lives, and instrumental especially in the final scene, and going into the next film.It might be overwhelming at first with a myriad of characters being introduced, but Kashyap got his presentation all under control like an old hand, bringing on new characters with proper title flashes, and providing adequate screen time for each to establish his or her backstory.
If you haven't watched an Indian film for some time already, if at all, then make Gangs of Wasseypur your launch point now..
I also felt in the last 30 minutes like I was watching instances of City of God. Anurag Kashyap has properly set a standard for the Indian Directors about how to take inspiration from foreign films.
All the supporting cast performed extremely well.In all, rarely in Indian cinema has this type of film been made especially with so much characters and their development.MESSAGE: "!!Revenge!!"VERDICT: "A must watch".
What strikes from the word go is the sheer realism of the ganglands of Bihar from nearly perfect performances of the very believable Bihar characters, to the dress sense punctuated by what is an almost unheard of in your face soundtrack made up of local Bihari hits mixed in modern sounds, this is Anurag's best in terms of art direction (maybe only bettered by his far superior Black Friday) There is so much going on in the movie that at times it's hard to enjoy all of it.
The sexually crude songs playing constantly in the back ground, the numerous acts of violence (at times hard to connect) or for that matter the out and out vulgar dialogues spouted by pretty much all the characters of the film.However there is one major drawback which makes the film's narration slightly uneven and over dependent on a poorly placed cricket-like commentary to bridge the gaps.
Instead, the script chooses to spend almost incessant time on the family and life of the alpha male Sardar Khan (Manoj Bajpai) including his long drawn out romance with the Bengali immigrant Durga (a very hot Reema Sen) Sardar Khan's Feisty wife Nagma (played perfectly by Richa Chaddha) ends up having more screen space than the main antagonist Ramadheer Singh (who could have been a tour de force).
It is undoubtedly a masterstroke in terms of gritty depiction of the ganglands but it could easily have been a lot crisper and stayed a little true to its title.You could also give a benefit of a doubt to the script considering there is the still to be released second part which requires the side characters to take centre stage and hence so much time spent on their development.Of course, the 3 hour long film picks up in the last thirty minutes when the third generation begins to come into the fore in a godfatheresque fashion and the film ends with a perfect act of violence you would have expected a long time back.
In India the film will be released in two parts.Here I am reviewing the first part of the epic.With Smriti Irani gleefully welcoming the whole nation to Tulsi's family of "Kyun ki saans bhi kabhi bahu thi"(famous Indian soap opera),the family setting is disrupted by a series of bang-bang thus setting the mood for a raw violent epic tale of deceit and revenge.Welcome to Anurag Kashyap's take on the violent gang-war of coal mafia in Bihar,the movie is one of rare docu-fiction made in India that has the signature mark of Kashyap–arguably the best Indian film maker of current generation.The movie runs for a span of six decades telling us the evolution of coal mafia to its pinnacle of violence.
Kashyap dares to go beyond the conventional means while telling an off-repeated story of revenge.In fact this film is a case study for film makers who can learn the art and use it to make something unconventional yet entertaining.As a film lover I am eagerly waiting for GOWII.P.S:The trailer of GOWII sets the mood with characters like Perpendicular,Definite,Tangent.The film looks to be more quirky than the first installment.One of the characters,a lean structure shown chewing a blade with an assassin look seem straight out of Tarantino films and my expectation increases manifold..
I was first alerted of this movie by the sheer waves it was making in the Cannes Film Festival, and for the very obvious reason that it featured the hugely talented maverick director, Anurag Kashyap who had already carved a niche for himself by virtue of his brilliant direction in many unconventional, "art" films.
The other reason was that one of my favourite actors, Manoj Bajpayee(one of those rare Indian actors who actually understand the meaning of acting), the genius who lived through his characters in films like Satya, Raajneeti, and 1971.
The recent box office success of these films proves that there exists a larger population of people who step into the theatre to consume these films and most of them find it entertaining too.Gangs of Wasseypur is Anurag Kashyaps Take your brains with you masala potboiler film.On the surface it is a revenge drama spanning almost 70 years that starts between Shahid Khan (Jaideep Ahalawat) and Ramadhir Singh (Played by two actors, the older part is played by Tigmanshu Dhulia) and is inherited by future generations of Shahid Khan.At a running time of 2 hrs 40 min the film is engaging and entertaining with not a single boring moment, that is if you find a connect with the characters and their world.
The last time I enjoyed Manoj Bajpayees performance was in Aks. This one beats it and is his 2nd best after Satya.Even though Tigmanshu Dhulia plays his part with silent menace his character comes across too weak to oppose the overpowering character of Shahid Khan which takes away some spice from the film.
Gangs of Wassyepur didn't bore me for a second.Word of mouth Gangs of Wasseypur is Anurags tribute to the American gangster movies and Godfather and also his answer to the masala films of our times.Its an item film.
GANGS OF WASSEYPUR also tries to walk on that thin line between the meaningful and entertaining cinema which in fact turns out to be a worth watching project due to its execution, performances, music and dialogues, but at the same time doesn't has anything fresh to offer in terms of concept, storyline or script.
all these years bollywood has been churning out me too movies with fake western wannabe characters and music and dance and I practically stopped watching this cr@p every since I was around 16.GoW shows what real authentic Indian cinema can be, what it should have been - mind bogglingly rich in colors and smell and taste and overwhelming - just like India.I think this movie surpasses City of God in artistic value and screenplay.
It is all about CHARACTERS!!!and each character WILL have multiple dimensions within himself/herself.KUDOS to the amazingly talented path-breaking director of Indian Cinema, Mr. Anurag Kashyap for giving such an epic movie called "Gangs of Wasseypur".
Though the movie, has a native backdrop(Bihar), the theme is universal- REVENGE.What I liked: (I liked every part of the movie, but would like to mention some extra-extra-ordinary things)Manoj Bajpayee's screen presence, is FABULOUS!!Straight-forward, Bihar-accent-ed powerful dialogs (I felt that aha, I wish I was a Bihari for these 3 hours, to enjoy the dialogs more heart-fully)Timing of the songs and background music and the variation of these music pieces, elevate the movie to the next level.What I did not like: Nothing!!Summary: DO NOT MISS!!!Note: The movie ends at a critical point, and also lays the foundation for the sequel- "Gangs of Wasseypur-2", which will hit the screens soon, and I just cant wait to watch that.
this movie became my favorite before i watched it.........not only because of anurag sir......or its success at cannes film festival or manoj bajpayee but because of its promos.......i went to theater and came out with same happiness as i expected from anurag kashyap's movie......in India majority says that the movie is boring and not good but i don't agree with them because those are the people who liked worst movies like housefull 1/2,bodyguard,dabangg,wanted etc..
I am warning people out there that if You like non sense action like bodyguard or some baseless movie sorry sir/ma'am this movie isn't made for you....according to me this movie is 1 of the best movie of bollywood till date....anurag gave so much attention to the detailing that you can't just ignore it and every character has given life it's own time to breath.......performance of all actors are awesome and manoj bajpayee is at all time best.....the plot,the story is larger than life and as you all know that this story is based on true story....some people will get shocked after watching this movie that this is the same country that they belong to.....this movie is not made for people who thinks that real India is shown just in 'yash raj films'..............for me its the best film ever made.
A movie gets its due when it takes the audience along with it.Gangs of Wasseypur manages to go one step further,it grips you right from beginning till the end.A gripping narrative and a language so authentic and so raw,that you feel the lanes of Bihar right next to you.Populated with well etched out characters, clearly defined plot,wacky humor,Gangs of wasseypur keeps you on the edge of your sit.While some brazen soundtracks keeps you grooved.The acting department was flawless,including Manoj Bajpai giving the performance of his life.You get the feeling that the film's narrative structure was inspired by Martin Scorsese.
Manoj Bajpai is amazing as Sardar (he really got into the character) and the narration (by one of the gang members) adds a lot of flavor to the entire flow of the movie.Siddiqui's role is brief in the first part and I have a feeling he will play a major role in the remaining part of this epic.
Manoj Bajpai is amazing as Sardar (he really got into the character) and the narration (by one of the gang members) adds a lot of flavor to the entire flow of the movie.Siddiqui's role is brief in the first part and I have a feeling he will play a major role in the remaining part of this epic.
Tigmanshu as Ramadheer Singh is terrific, his expressions too good.Apart from this, the movie is informative - it very subtly tells the audience all about the way Indian coal mafia has progressed over the years, the gang wars, the politics.
Tigmanshu as Ramadheer Singh is terrific, his expressions too good.Apart from this, the movie is informative - it very subtly tells the audience all about the way Indian coal mafia has progressed over the years, the gang wars, the politics.
Just as many movies are being made in Bollywood these days that provides a good entertainment, Kashyap has given a good hit on the nail with his movie, Gangs of Wasseypur 2 to move the nails even deeper into a wood of mafia story.The GOW 2 smoothly begins reminding the audience about a squeal start, quickly hooks the viewer to await for the next revenge killing in the movie.The actors are well placed in their characters and handled well by Kashyap till each of them start to blossom to their purpose of remaining alive in the scenes.
From the Character development to the storytelling and narration by one of the characters, it's genius filmmaking from Anurag Kashyap.It's got everything you want in a movie, thrilling entertainment, action, comedy, romance, drama what more can I say.The way it's structured is amazing and even though the running time is long, you don't feel any drag at all because you're so immersed in the story.And the suspense in this film will make your butt clench which I'm sure is influenced by Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way, the train station scene.This should get a worldwide cinema release in all Countries to get the recognition it deserves.If you have the chance then put everything on hold and watch this film, you won't regret it..
Gangs of Wasseypur stands firmly on the grounds of Direction, Acting, Screenplay, Story-line, Cinematography, Music & off course The BEST Dialogues.
Filled with such juicy characters, music, cinematography, dialogues etc., this film certainly slips into your 'favorites list' as soon as you have seen the end credits or may be long before it.I have watched it at least 6-7 times and its not even been a year of its release.
she grabs Manoj Bajpai's as well as Audience (eye) balls with her performance Its is a nuisance that some masala film lovers claim to not understand the movie or character relations but then as a film lover u r expected to figure that out simultaneously from the narration without enactingAnurag Kashyap is a jewel in Indian cinema.....
With people bringing in movies without any story, just for entertainment, here comes Anurag Kashyap with an entertainer of his own.
I feel myself blessed for being a audience to this quirky, dark, highly amusing and straight on the face brilliant Film.The Cast, Sneha Khanwalkar's music, the direction, dialogues, script, the comic timings and the gore takes this movie to a next level.
"Gangs of Wasseypur" is one film where everybody's performance was exceptional.The movie ends teasing and the audience wants some more of it.
Literally this is best movie in Bollywood made in last 18 years(2018).it has still the same feeling as watching it first time.
It didn't feel like Watching a 5+ hour movie .So much realism is added to this Film.