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