The impulsive reaction to a movie, said to be inspired by the likes of the master of stylised violence, Quentin Tarantino, is a high expectation. Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur, a tale of vengeance told through three generations, rises to the mark bloody well.

Anurag Kashyap has always been a specialist of realism, but the manner in which he has rendered violence using the paradoxical characters with breathless pace makes Gangs of Wasseypur a stirring, edgy movie experience. The blood-soaked drama that narrates the revenge saga of gang warfare set in the badlands of Dhanbad's Wasseypur district is colored with magnificent performances and devious humour. The movie opens to a sequence of the once-famous daily soap Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and what follows unnerves you till the end of the movie.

The casting and acting is remarkable and spot on with Jaideep Ahlawat playing Shahid Khan, Manoj Bajpayee playing his son Sardar Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui playing his son Faizal. Richa Chaddha sparkles as Sardar’s rugged wife Nagma, while Reema Sen has delivered in spades as the sensuous Durga. When Shahid Khan is murdered by Ramadheer Singh, it sets off the revenge trail that lasts between the Khans and the Qureshis over generations. The central character Sardar, who vows to avenge his father’s death by inflicting pain, humiliation and fear, is perhaps the best performance delivered by Bajpayee after Bhiku Mhatre in Satya.

The story brims with characters who are outlaws living far away from society’s moral compass and their female counterparts who fill spirit and charm into the plot. Even the minor characters of the movie have been given lucid details so that you won’t feel their presence out of place. Another laudable part is the dialogues which infuse the gory tale with humour. The milieu and language is just perfect and justifies the director’s imaginative version of Wasseypur. Sneha Khanwalkar’s soundtrack has given an entirely different dimension to the film.

However, the length of the movie and the long list of characters and their respective family trees adds to the complexity of the plot, well enough to confuse you. The story constantly shifts between personal and professional conflicts, putting you at a loss to emotionally invest at any particular point.

Anurag Kashyap had a very strong theme but too much of it has left the audience saturated like an over eaten feast. Gangs of Wasseypur with its modern treatment has however compensated for the excessive relationships and rivalries in the storyline. The movie is by turns engaging and frustrating.

The blood feud that starts in 1941 will continue in Gangs of Wasseypur Part 2, which is set in contemporary times. Apart from the minor hiccups that the movie has suffered, I am definitely going to buy a ticket for the next part as well.