classicsoncall Review of Gangs of Wasseypur

Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)

"Here, even a pigeon flies with one wing, and uses the other to guard his innocence."

[7/10 · 7 May 2018]

The movie takes place in Dhanabad, a district of Jharkand in India, and is a fictionalized account of real events. Spanning generations as it does, it perhaps carries greater resonance for Hindi film goers than a Western audience. I found it difficult to relate to the characters and situations, and didn't get a sense of epic adventure that other reviewers on this board seem to express. Certainly not as it relates to the nearly five and a half hours required to tell it's story. One notable difference I noticed from other Indian movies was the unnecessary reliance on musical sequences of any kind, which for a film like this would probably have been inappropriate anyway. Be that as it may, I would have appreciated a shorter film, and since it relies on characteristics of The Godfather Saga, might have better served as a movie with a sequel or two.