Cast
Description : The film opens to a literal hammershot with a startling and dramatically filmed shootout in a high rise building. Simran (Kangana) is shot at by a man shot at thrice, and before long, two stretchers are wheeled into an operation theatre. One bears Simran, and the other, the man who was shot.
The opening sequence is an intriguing peg, and from there, with its smooth and intriguing narrative technique of flashbacks intercut with the present, the story of Gangster unfolds in flashback.
Gangster, the first Indian feature film shot in beautiful autumnal Seoul, is about Simran, a young bar dancer whose life is changed when a dangerous criminal Daya (Shiny Ahuja in a powerful performance) on the run from pursuing cops, barges into her home. Simran protects him from the pursuing cops, and even tells him he can stay there for a day till the cops leave the area. Daya, a man of few words, is intrigued by her simplicity and lack of fear, and is clearly drawn to her in a primeval way. He leaves without a word, but returns a week later to ask for her. And follows her to her place of work – a 'ladies'bar, which he starts frequenting every day, just sitting there, gazing upon her, without speaking a word. One night, as drunken customers try to grab Simran, Daya explodes, beats them senseless, then grabs her hand and pulls her out of the bar and into his life. And Simran, who, like most other young women, had always been dreaming of a family and a home of her own, believes that finally, through Daya, her dreams are coming true.
But that is not to be. Life with Daya, the gangster, has been a never ending lurching, hurtling escape dash from cops …
Simran is living in a Seoul suburb, while Daya is in Mauritius. She's living on the edge emotionally, and finds refuge either in alcohol, or in the songs and tender affection of Akash, a singer at an Indian restaurant in Seoul. As they are drawn closer, one night, Simran, now in love with Akash, blurts out her entire story of life with Daya. And of the adopted child they lost to the cops who came shooting for them one day. She also tells him of the way Daya pulled a gun on his mentor and father figure ( Gulshan Grover in small but brilliant performance) for her sake. Akash – and the audience – learn that nothing can come between Simran and Daya's love for her. And soon, Akash nearly loses his life when in a startling scene, Daya finds out about Simran's affair with him, nearly killing Akash in a fit of uncontrollable rage.
Desperate, Daya pleads with Simran for one last chance to prove that his love for her is strong enough to make him give up crime for ever. He vows to make an honest living, and starts an honest life. The terrible Daya is now reduced to sweeping floors and toiling at fish markets, holding his cap out for payment in coins. But he is close to Simran and very happy. Simran, still terrified for Akash's sake, stops keeping in touch with him.
Then, Fate steps in. Simran finds out she is expecting Akash's child. While on the one hand there's Daya with his smoldering, possessive love for her, on the other is Akash, affectionate father of the child she is expecting. Akash pleads with her to give up living with Daya. He wants her to accept him instead, and to keep the child. The confused, vulnerable Simran makes a choice. And from here on, the story gallops ahead with nail biting intrigue, as completely unpredictable events unfold. The marriage of emotions and a cannily crafted screenplay, full of nerve jangling twists in the second half hold you engrossed, waiting hungrily for the end with sweeps you with a wave of huge relief tinged with sadness. But emotionally, immensely satisfying.
A thoroughly engrossing and gripping narrative, Gangster scores with all key aspects of film making, starting from Anurag Basu's screenplay and Girish Dhamija's dialogue, as also Bobby Singh's cinematography. A remarkable high point is Pritam's excellent music which takes the narrative forward, with each song placed perfectly, right till the soulful Mujhe Mat Roko in the end.