Nishaanchi

Anurag Kashyap's direction is superb. This is a film in the GANGS OF WASSEYPUR zone; in fact, the story doesn’t end and there’s a second part in the offing as well. Many characters and even a few situations would remind one of the 2012 two-part classic. There's a lot of humour present in the narrative, but what stands out is the drama. The film starts at a certain point and Anurag hints at significant developments in the lives of the characters that have taken place already. It intrigues the viewers and doesn’t confuse thankfully. Soon, the flashback portions take over and they form a major chunk of the film. Interestingly, from the beginning portions, one gets a slight idea about what must have happened in the past. Yet, one looks forward to it when the past track unfolds. A few scenes that stand out are Jabardast (Viineet Kumar Singh) taking revenge and his scene in jail, Tony confronted by Rinku for the first time, Manjari warning Dabloo over falling for Rinku, Ambika attacked on his face etc. The climax is well executed and increases the expectation for the sequel.

The film mostly does a fair job of managing the chaos, but the inherent problem with Nishaanchi is that the story isn't as vast in scope as Wasseypur, and after a while, the arc of the story becomes annoyingly predictable.

Tucked into Gangs of Wasseypur’s episodic narrative and small-town tableau vivant was a pastiche of the fatalistic, predictable and stultifying Bollywood movie. By contrast, the 176-minute Nishaanchi is largely unremarkable and exposition-heavy. The most interesting part of the plot barely emerges – the reasons why two men who are impossible to tell apart grow up to be the night-and-day of each other’s lives.

The performances rescue the film. Aaishvary Thackeray looks at ease in front of the camera and gives both Bablu and Dablu distinct shades of energy. Monika Panwar is first-rate, delivering one of the film’s sharpest lines. Vineet Kumar Singh adds grit to the story, Vedika Pinto slips into her role with natural ease, and Kumud Mishra brings that unpredictable streak that makes him menacing. Nishaanchi is Kashyap returning to familiar territory, armed with a fresh cast and his trademark mix of grit and humour. The film has moments that sparkle but also stretches that weigh it down. If you can overlook the drag, the performances and Kashyap’s eye for detail make it worth a watch, though it never quite escapes the shadow of Wasseypur.

While entertaining, Kashyap's film falls into the usual Bollywood trope: a good and an evil twin brother with a widowed mother, a complicated love angle, crime versus conscience arcs, family betrayal, and secrets that can break hearts and even relationships.

Nishaanchi isn’t a bad film. In fact, it has all the ingredients to be a great one. Kashyap promises intensified drama in Part 2, but Part 1 is handled so unevenly in places that it never fully delivers the Kashyap experience we’ve all been starving for. The Anurag Kashyap of old — the one who shocked, thrilled, and redefined cinema — still needs to make a complete comeback. Hopefully, Nishaanchi Part 2 will be that long-awaited return. Anurag Kashyap revisits gangsters and the heartland — but not as sharply as Gangs of Wasseypur. The sparks are there, the setup is solid, but Part 1 barely scratches its full potential.

The best of Kashyap has always included scenes and situations which go for the jugular, no waffling, no wasting time, but in this one, you are hard put to find those that will be stayers. The relationship between the excellent Panwar and Singh, which includes lashings of the kind of grown-up passion that Kashyap is so good at creating, is the highlight of the film, even if Manjari’s character feels like a combination of the ones played by Richa Chadha- Huma Qureshi in GOW, what with Manjari bringing up ‘permission’, making you flash back to that memorable scene in which Nawaz and Qureshi are trying it on: in a small-town crime drama, AK style, how can there not be a scene with a woman on her haunches, by a hand-pump, whatever she is doing, dishes, clothes secondary to barely-veiled lust?