HIDDEN METAPHORS (PART 1) IN GANGS OF WASSEYPUR ??

It has been 7 years since Anurag Kashyap’s gangster epic ‘Gangs of Wasseypur 1 and 2’ released and took the entire nation to witness a miracle. Whether it is the well etched characters or power-packed dialogues, the film received a cult status in no time at all.

After watching the film several times and grinding several theories, there are still a lot of things that continue to enthrall me as a cinephile. I have seen the film atleast more than 35 times and saw some hidden metaphors that I still wonder were deliberate or not.

1.       ASHA vs. TAZ

If we closely watch GoW, the first scene starts when a group of people are watching a daily soap on TV and as the camera pulls back, we see a calendar of Shiva and Parvati with ‘ASHA’ written in Hindi. In English, ‘Asha’ means hope. I feel ‘Asha’ symbolizes the Pathan clan where earlier Shahid Khan hopes to lead with power, Sardar Khan, Naghma and Faizal Khan hope to seek revenge from Ramadheer, Definite hopes to lead Wasseypur, Mohsina hopes for a better life, Shama hopes for acceptance by her brother. 

The name of the brass band is again "Asha" which caters almost to every single occasion in Pathan household, be it a celebration (salam-e-ishq meri jaan) or a mourning (yaad teri aayegi). The word "Asha" is somehow, again, quite metaphorically placed in frame. 

During the "Sultan shoot out" scene, another Pathan 'Definite' kills the 'Qureshi' Sultan. During this scene, I saw word "Asha" written over Definite's bike. Though it is not readily visible to the naked eye, yet it occupies an important portion of screen. 

Metaphorically, "Asha" plays within the context of Wasseypur and the conflict between the Pathans and Qureshis. Is it deliberately placed???

The word 'Taz'

As "Asha" means Hope, similarly "Taz/Taj" means the crown or POWER. There are these two scenes in the film which shows prominence of TAZ associated with Ramadheer Singh. In one scene (GoW Part 1), when Ramadheer Singh is addressing the ‘Mazdoor Union’, we see ‘TAZ SOUND’ as the name of the sound vendor. It is during that time of the film when Ramadheer’s might is taking prominence and he is slowly and steadily becoming feared in Dhanbad.

Similarly, during the shootout of Sardar Khan, when Sultan and his men shoot him ensuring a precise and calculated hit, we see a roadside hoarding in the background with name “TAZ STEEL”. It is an important scene where power is again shifting back to Ramadheer Singh as earlier in the film, due to Sardar’s increasing clout, he infuriates Ramadheer that results in this scene. Is Anurag Kashyap trying to convey the power shift through ‘TAZ’ ?  

…. To Be Continued… in PART 2

NOTE: (The above write-up is solely based on my thoughts as a film writer and a cinephile. Nothing related to this is available online or in any text book.)

-Written by

Manas Mishra

Watch micro-budget indie feature 'KSHAY' this weekend on Amazon Prime

How many people do you need to make a film?

100..?

70..?

20..?

2..?

Two.. Well.. but how?

Kshay is an example of micro-budget film-making where the director Karan Gour collaborated with Cinematographer Abhinay Khoparzi and gave us this highly inspiring piece of cinema. Kshay showcases the psychology and obsession of a middle-class housewife for a statue of goddess Laxmi. The plot is simple yet effective because of the brilliant pre-production work. Now when I say pre-production, it is the hardcore planning and conception that goes on after finalizing the right script. For somebody who is making a film in just 4 lakh rupees, a lot of things have to fall in place to make sure it sees the light of the day.

It is a new kind of experimental cinema where the director has used quite a number of ingenious techniques. It is a break from the kind of stylized cinema we gorge on mostly. The film is mainly for the cinephiles who love engaging stories, novels, plays, write-ups, etc. It would remind you of Nolan’s Following and Doodlebug or Aronofsky’s Pi and some of David Lynch films. Few smart moves by the makers of Kshay are:

1)     They selected the black-and-white tone for the film which works both ways. Firstly, it depicts Chhaya’s (played by Rasika Dugal) psychological status where she doesn’t have colors in her life (she had a miscarriage, low finances). The other reason could be that the makers had very limited production budget (approx 1 lakh) so a lot of money is saved in art direction and lighting (basically the frame). The opening scene where Arvind is talking to Bapu has flat walls behind but the black-white tone kind of reduces that flatness.

2)     In the film, Chhaya sells all the household stuff to procure the required 15000/- for the statue. Now that is a smart move by the makers as we don’t have to fill the foreground or background. It justifies the absence of having negligible scope for art direction or continuity. Well it augurs well for the shoestring budget.

3)     Arvind is shown working for a construction company. Finding an under-construction building is not a major issue and most of the time, he is shown wearing the construction helmet and standing in front of the building, which again excludes the need of intensive recce.  

4)     In the climax scene, when Arvind reaches Bapu’s office with the gun, the entire shootout is not shown. Both the characters go inside the room (camera remains outside) and we see a flash of light with the sound of gunshot and then one of the characters come out with blood stains on his shirt- CUT TO- Chhaya mourning. It solves two purposes for the director. Not only it creates anticipation for the audience but also enables director to avoid headaches of vfx or fancy camera movements or in short, to save money, which is the underlined objective of any indie filmmaker. Hats off to this approach !!

5)     We all know how talented Rasika Dugal is so the director has tried to give her maximum screen time, not forcibly or disjointedly, but has created her demand through the story and narrative. The story is about her (character of Chhaya) so most of the shots are close-ups/mid close-ups in contrast to wide shots as there is not much to show around or to fill the frame. Quite intelligently so..

6)     Since both the lead characters (couple) are going through a financial crisis, it automatically rationalizes their current situation in the story. It allows to minimize fancy clothes, accessories, lights, furniture paraphernalia, etc, thereby keeping a check, once again, on budget.

7)     There are four main locations used: Bapu’s office, the statue shop, the rented apartment (around 80% film has been shot here) and the construction site. Also there is a fifth location i.e. Chhaya’s sub-conscious, which mostly appears to have been shot inside the apartment only. The director leaves us mostly with Chhaya and her sub-conscious so the maximum film happens to be inside her rented apartment and we don’t even realize for how long she had been there.

8)     The camerawork needs a special mention for carefully using slow-motion and POV shots, that makes us seamlessly enter and exit Chhaya’s subconscious. The opening sequence where she gets hit by a stone was nicely edited to show its POV. Also Goddess Laxmi’s POV as if she is also obsessed with Chhaya or is it Chhaya’s perception of Goddess looking at her, we can only discuss.

The film was released way back in 2011 when the state of independent film-making was such that it got released on Friday only on four screens in the entire India i.e. 2 in Mumbai and 1 each in Delhi and Gurgaon.

The film can currently be seen on Amazon Prime. For people who love cinema and appreciate good content, it is a must watch !!

-Manas Mishra