Ghamasaan

मध्य भारत के डकैतों की बात होती है तो चंबल नदी के आसपास के बीहड़ वाले डाकू (ओह सॉरी, बीहड़ में बागी होत हैं, डकैत होत हैं पार्लामैंट में) ही याद आते हैं। यही कारण है कि किसी ज़माने में कुख्यात रहे डकैत ददुआ यानी शिव कुमार पटेल को भी चंबल से जोड़ लिया जाता है जबकि उसका इलाका उत्तर प्रदेश के चित्रकूट में माणिकपुर के आसपास का पाठा (पठारी) क्षेत्र था। कभी बीहड़ की फूलन देवी पर बनी कमाल की फिल्म ‘बैंडिट क्वीन’ से जुड़े रहे और वहीं के पान सिंह तोमर पर ‘पान सिंह तोमर’ नाम से एक उम्दा फिल्म दे चुके फिल्मकार तिग्मांशु धूलिया अब पाठा के ददुआ पर यह फिल्म ‘घमासान’ (Ghamasaan) लेकर आए हैं। मगर क्या यह फिल्म उन दो फिल्मों की तरह शानदार बन पाई है? आइए देखते हैं।

Set in the Hindi heartland, Bundelkhand, Ghamasaan delves into the conflict between a powerful dacoit named Maharaj (Arshad Warsi) and a fearless officer, Aditya Singh (Pratik Gandhi). As Aditya tries to dismantle Maharaj’s reign, he needs to rise above deep corruption, taking stock of power struggles and the thin line between the law and the outlaws. Pratik Gandhi is decent as an approachable, earnest cop and gives it relatability. And, after a while, Arshad Warsi sheds his comedy image and brings an earthy flamboyance to a ruthless, proactive dacoit. Rajpal Yadav bags a unique role, and among the supporting cast, Deepraj Rana, Jatin Goswami and Ishita Dutta make a mark.

The arena is Bundelkhand, not Chambal, but Timanshu Dhulia knows his terrain. And that familiarity makes Ghamasaan stand out from the series of films shot on locations created on sets, their artifice seeping into the story-telling: the best part of this conflict between cops-and-robbers is the authenticity of the place, and the people. Maharaj (Arshad Warsi) is Bundelkhand’s Bandit King, as opposed to Phoolan, Chambal’s Bandit Queen (in which Dhulia was casting director) , as well as Paan Singh Tomar (which Dhulia directed, turning it into one of his, and lead Irrfan’s, best collaborations) from the same area who famously gave us that line about ‘baaghis’ and ‘dakaaits’.

You can tell when a film-maker returns to their comfort zone. There’s something dry and unfussy about the storytelling, as if to say: No big deal, I know what I’m doing. There’s a conventional template and familiar tropes, but the padding is full of little observations, themes, subplots and set-pieces that don’t call for attention. The treatment is casual, confident. It’s almost like watching a tennis player competing on their favourite court after a while: all muscle memory and twitches. That’s director Tigmanshu Dhulia’s relationship with the hinterland crime drama. More than a decade after Paan Singh Tomar, his latest, Ghamasaan, tells a cop-and-dacoit tale in Bundelkhand of the mid-2000s. It’s soothing to see how relaxed the movie is. The prolific Arshad Warsi plays Maharaj (based on Dadua, the actual ‘Veerappan of Bundelkhand’), a god-fearing jungle king who terrorises villages and slaughters traitors; Warsi has been enjoying quite a second wind lately, and regardless of the tone he occupies — whether sullen cop, comedic gangster or serious don — he always brings something new to the table. The reliable Pratik Gandhi plays IPS Aditya Singh, the all-business outsider tasked with capturing Maharaj and his trigger-happy gang.