Meeruthiya Gangsters Hindi Movie
Zeishan Qadri, the director of Meeruthiya Gangster, is better known for writing Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur. Those two films are testimony enough that Qadri has a bank of pretty whacky characters. His directorial debut is an attempt to further his reputation. And he almost succeeds, as he gets a rather exciting ensemble of characters to play out this pulp of a fiction.
Set in Meerut and the NCR region, Meeruthiya Gangster is about a bunch of young guys from Meerut. They are crooked alright, but each has his own ambition to get into a respectable job, with a decent salary. And yet to sustain themselves they resort to petty crimes like mugging. Things are set rolling on a faster lane when they discover the profits of kidnapping, which is interestingly necessitated by a completely different reason than profiteering.
Qadri has his characters all right, each one different in his own way. And they are given some very impressive dialogues - easily the best part of the film. Where he falters however is what mattered most - building the characters. While they are likable in their own way, none of them are distinct enough to be retained in memory after the film is over, like in case of a Ramadhir Singh or Faizal Khan from GOW.
Zeishan also shows his quirky side in the way he shoots. He and his cinematographer Naren Gedia plan numerous single shot sequences. Some of which are executed to perfection. The rest could give you a headache. A stricter editor could have probably eased that out.
The lack of roundedness irrespective, all the actors put up rather sincere efforts. While Akash Dahiya, Jaideep Ahlawat and Mukul Dev are the pick of the lot the rest are not far behind. Bijendra Kala pitches in one more of his effortless acts.
Meeruthiya Gangsters comes across as half backed, almost looking like a student's diploma film. Zeishan Qadri shows he has what it takes to come up interesting stories, but he yet needs to sharpen his skills as a filmmaker. While being indulgent is fine, not every filmmaker does it as wonderfully as a Tarantino. Restraint then is the key... one that Qadri could use well.
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