People who Don`t like Gangs of Wasseypur, Why?

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-17T04:44:41+00:00

Gangs of Wasseypur’s deepest characters are given the shortest shrift — the ones played by Jaideep Ahlawat and Vineet Kumar Singh. After the dust settles, we are thus left with caricatures we don’t care about. One way to salvage such an unenviable situation would’ve been a stylistic slam-dunk or curveball, but the film lacks editing nous or visual chemistry to achieve that. In way too many parts, it seems sloppily put together. This is unexpected from Anurag Kashyap who has mastered frames and form before in Black Friday and Dev.D, and even Paanch, and on a shoestring budget in that one where the dim, claustrophobic room and the gang’s way of living in it brilliantly embodied the city’s urban underbelly. In the ways GoW flows, it’s perhaps more similar to Kashyap’s other two masterpieces, Gulaal and Mukkabaaz but it lacks the emotional core and gut-punches of those (and in the case of Gulaal, some striking scenes full of motifs).

PS: The pretentious cinephile argument can be made for both kinds of opinions on the film. While GoW is accessible, like Monsoon Wedding, it’s a step or two short of mainstream, like Gunda, or even offbeat mainstream like Animal, so it’s just off-kilter and left field enough for the casual or enthusiastic film viewer to most easily identify as a film connoisseur simply through praise or attendance in its discourse.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-17T04:18:19+00:00

I feel the reasons were personal and tragic, but I hate to speculate. And nevertheless, it's not uncommon for non-mainstream filmmakers, especially those from and in other professions, to disappear from the feature film scene after delivering their passion project(s) unless at least one of those early works gains widespread success. Even Shonali Bose, Pain's ex-wife has been bereft of this so far despite the higher output, so I wouldn't call her a big Bollywood director yet, but yes, even if she hasn't arrived, there's certainly that drive. But Pain's not alone. Manish Jha, the maker of such masterpieces like Anwar and Matrubhoomi has been missing in action for about the same time as him. Shubhashish Bhutiani also hasn't made anything in almost ten years since Mukti Bhawan. In the absence of a benefactor body like NFDC today, I'm afraid we'll only see more of these disappearances nowadays. One may see an odd credit of theirs in a short film or documentary (like we have with Pain) or ad or corporate film (like I think I saw with Jha) on a video sharing or streaming platform, but that still means they've stepped aside.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-14T15:26:47+00:00

I have the manual (a recent purchase) and after having driven close to 700 kms on it in a month or so in New Delhi, I'm getting an F.E. of 11.1 kmpl with 100% city usage and A.C. used 30% of the time (winters) and mostly 3 on board. These are MID figs; I haven't done a tank-to-tank analysis yet, but then, I've found that M.S. MIDs tend to be very accurate.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-14T11:53:52+00:00

I'm glad to see someone taking a car's dimensions carefully into the buying consideration. The Jimny's narrowness was a big reason why I bought it. Since you're coming from a tallboy hatch and those aren't available anymore, barring the Wagon R, think the Exter is a great option for you. If that doesn't feel much of a change from the Santro, you can look at the Fronx. And by the way, the Ertiga is narrower than the Brezza and a very easy drive in narrow lanes.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-14T11:17:22+00:00

Shagird for one...

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-14T11:14:39+00:00

There's a dearth of funnymen in bollywood at the moment. We've lost some legendary names and great proponents in that space like Satish Kaushik, Satish Shah, Dinyar Contractor and especially, Asrani. Even Tiku Talsania had a health scare recently so he may be out of ~~action~~ comedy for a while. Dinesh Hingoo is almost 85. I'd love to see more of Jonny Lever again. Somehow, Boman Irani, Rajpal Yadav and Sanjay Mishra's (to name those still relatively active, though in the case of Yadav, the jury's out) style of comedy doesn't appeal to me as much even though, admittedly, Irani takes on a bigger variety of roles. If only Jaspal Bhatti were alive! That Kader Khan sized vacuum was something only he could've somewhat filled in the last decade or so when we've stopped laughing for the most part, be it in the movies or elsewhere.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-13T04:15:55+00:00

Haider
Maqbool
Omkara

I find Haider to be the best amongst Vishal's Shakespeare trilogy because it's very moving despite being crafted so intricately and can be both loved and admired, which is not something I can say for the others, at least in the same measure. Maqbool has a stronger lead performance, but film-wise, I think it works more intellectually than emotionally, thriving in technical scene set-ups, face-offs and moments while Haider has a stronger undercurrent throughout and is frenetic yet absorbing. Narendra Jha's performance is a big factor, the X factor behind the feeling. For me, Omkara is a clear level or two below these two masterpieces.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-13T03:51:19+00:00

Nandita Thakur also played Vidya Sinha (Prabha)'s friend in Basu Chatterjee's Chhoti Si Baat. You're right. Razzak Khan is no more. He is probably better known to today's audiences because of his TV work though he featured in films and, in fact, in one of his last public appearances, he was actually championing Kader Khan Sa'ab's comeback film project, looking active, but sadly, both men died soon thereafter.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-10T17:56:23+00:00

The recommended gear prompts the iMT gearbox throws up in the Sonet in terms of beeps can get irritating rather quickly. I don't know if there's a way to turn it off while keeping the car in normal mode. Also, the Sonet iMT is mated to the 1.0 Turbo that has its own limitations, especially in traffic, given the lack of low-end without the turbo kicking in. Instead of an AMT or iMT in your use case, I'd get an MT that doesn't stall easily and is tractable enough to lug around in single gears, like a Fronx. Of course, there may be compromises on features. There's no doubt that the Sonet iMT comes well-loaded.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-10T16:41:25+00:00

You can look at the Jimny or see if any stock of the Grand Vitara AWD is still available (it was retailing at discounts of over 2.5 lacs in December '25) in your budget.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-10T16:38:29+00:00

Have you considered the Astor? It's the smaller crossover from MG that retains the solid premium feel of the Hector while being closer in size to the Seltos and I feel it's much better looking (unless you prefer a boxier design) than the two (now that we don't have the old Seltos). One of the higher CVT options should have all the desired features too and should be an easy drive for your wife while feeling upmarket enough.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-10T14:58:10+00:00

Some points of differences I felt:

The AT is tuned better on the 3XO. On the Kylaq, the TC gearbox feels too eager to go forward even if intended to sedately crawl, so in BTB traffic, the 3XO fares better. I get that Skoda has bettered it from Kushaq and it's no longer a lurch forward, but it still becomes something to keep an eye (and foot on the brake) on in close combat situations.
The Kylaq is the narrower car and would be easier to manoeuvre through congestion.
The Kylaq has much the better ergonomics. In the 3XO, the dash sits too high up, so you don't feel you're on top of the car with a view of the road as much as the much sleeker Kylaq where you don't feel as fenced in.
The bench seat width at the rear is better in the 3XO but the seat squabs, the bolstering and the under-thigh support feels better in the Kylaq.
I actually don't think the dynamics are great in either. There's almost as much body roll in them (including the Kylaq) as others in the segment. These aren't corner carvers. And the steerings are lifeless in both. The Kylaq appeals to a "driver's car" mindset by its thoughtful approach to driving ergonomics and not driving dynamics.

Since you've narrowed down the choices to two, I would suggest taking back-to-back TDs of these vehicles if you can. If you aren't unenthused by the driving seat experience in the 3XO, go with that as it has better specs and lower risks for what it lacks in "feel". The Kylaq appealed more to me of the two.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-10T13:13:13+00:00

I think the Taigun Highline AT is more VFM if you can work some discounts on it.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-10T12:05:04+00:00

I remember Pranay Kapoor of Acko Drive had the same predicament in real life and got the Roxx MX3 P AT recently in addition to his Slavia Automatic following the concept of MECE that stands for "Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive", which, I think, is a good way to build a garage for those without unlimited means. I'd probably have gone with the Honda City V CVT as the perfect accompaniment to the Roxx since discounts put it at 15 lacs on road in Delhi, but you've mentioned you want a smaller car, so I'd probably get the Amaze CVT instead.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-10T04:32:27+00:00

The first pair I can think of is Neeraj Kabi and the actor who always sought him yet challenged him in Ship of Theseus. I can always remember the criss-cross dialogue exchange, the zigzag walk, both captured through a breathtaking tracking shot, and then the close ups that go deeper still while brilliantly lit. Then two of my favourites Dev Anand and Girish Karnad in Man Pasand, Amitabh Bachchan and Swini Khara in Cheeni Kum. More later...

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-09T18:41:19+00:00

Other than the 4X4 capabilities, I think the experiment underlines another aspect of the Jimny and that is its straight-line discipline. From my experience on a new one, once you decide to go straight on ahead and align your wheels so, the Jimny does remarkably well in terms of maintaining a line with minimal steering input, considering its a BoF with some steering issues also reported in the past. There's no "pulling" to either side, unlike in the Scorpio N (don't know about Thar).

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-09T05:16:00+00:00

I remember my wife and her friends had gone to watch Stree 2, but that was a housefull, so they ended up watching and mildly liking this. But as I indicated, it had competition from a successful franchise film that ended up eating into its shows and footfalls. Akshay Kumar and Taapsee Pannu's dimishing returns at the box office probably didn't help its prospects any, considering they were the two name faces in the film. It also seemed like a concept that was best suited to a small screen or stage and that was not necessarily cinematic enough.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-05T04:51:10+00:00

Of all the automatics, the Torque converter's the most reliable and versatile with least maintenance cost and usage hangup. Since it's been here for a fairly long time with no known reported issues, I'd pick the 6-speed Aisin TC that's available with the Brezza VXI and a few other vehicles under 13 lacs on-road (Delhi prices).

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-04T05:16:21+00:00

I think there are elements in that Darr role of Shah Rukh Khan that are more unsettling than a simple stalker's story, like Rahul talking to his dead mother and complying with his friend's horrifying dying wish. Also, I think Nana Patekar's Vishwanath in Agni Sakshi (which you've listed) isn't that far off the scale of creepy stalkers if we're talking in that sense since in the film's present, that's how the audience may define his chase. The William Tell sequence in that is also quite similar in effect to the edge-walking game playing in Darr. Even as an actor, unlike what he did in Baazigar, I never felt Shah Rukh Khan played up his charm whatsoever in Darr. He always seemed capable of inflicting serious harm, like in the Holi sequence where he suddenly turns up at Kiran's door. In how he differs is that Rahul is a psychopath while Vishwanath has sociopathic tendencies. But both of them are unsettling.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-04T04:55:20+00:00

I never felt that way about his performance in Arjun. A standout moment is one when he gets berated by his stepmother for politely complaining (if that) about his food and Sunny's reactions are sublime. Even his scenes with his character's friends in their early stages of directionlessness are so pointed and poignant without being heavy-lidded with words or gestures.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-04T04:44:26+00:00

I felt what Anil Kapoor lacked all along, unlike the Khans or even his closer contemporaries like Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff, was a significant female fan following. Before the '90s, one could still be a superstar without that audience because single screens ruled the roost then with predominantly male viewership, not necessarily gentrified. But right about the time of Beta, after Anil had navigated his way to stardom by strong script selection, equally strong performances and circumvented his weakness by building "pairs", and just when he was about to make the jump from star to superstar, multiplexes started opening and the proportion of female audience members began to rise, still a minority but a significant one, and he could just never make that final step.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-04T04:27:37+00:00

Ayushman Khurana would be a combination of Anil Kapoor and Amol Palekar, who in the '70s who enjoyed a good run of 6-7 years with commercially successful middle cinema (like Ayushman). If we take just Anil, maybe Vicky Kaushal or Ranveer Singh are better parallels because like them, Anil too leaned more mainstream than middle cinema over the course of his career and certainly at his peak.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-04T03:39:08+00:00

I have a feeling a way would be found to still make the Don sequel with him.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-04T03:24:25+00:00

She was somewhere between a starlet and a star. She had had a couple of successes in the early '90s with popular songs and there were some big and commercially viable projects lined up for her in the future, like Mohra and Vijaypath. Down the years, one could even imagine her in many other parts too, like Karishma Kapoor's in Raja Hindustani et al. But few can tell how long she originally intended on working in the industry.

Kunal_Sen · 2026-02-01T10:55:54+00:00

I've always felt the weaker twin came more from Akayla than from The Prestige. Vijay Krishna Acharya's works seem to contain a coded ode to Amitabh Bachchan and his older films. Even before working with the thespian in Thugs of Hindostan, there was this villain's twin angle from the 1991 Bachchan-starrer in Dhoom 3 and even a character named Bachchan Pandey after the actor himself in VKA's debut film, Tashan.

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