Directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia. Starring Jimmy Shergill, Mahie Gill, Randeep Hooda, Shreya Narayan, Deepal Shaw.

A nuanced, pitch-perfect and immensely engrossing thriller-drama, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster is a must watch for anyone craving a well-crafted, mature film.

Illicit passions, unscrupulous betrayals, inscrutable moralities, propped facades and crumbling decadence. Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster is an unbridled orgy of subversive alliances and ulterior motives. But beyond the tangled layers of relationships and changing hues of its central characters, this is a film rooted in the most basic of psychological need. The need for ‘respect’ in its varied forms of power, control, acknowledgement and love. Taking this as the emotional core, director Tigmanshu Dhulia weaves a spectacular and gritty mise en scene where every frame reeks of lyrical decadence and flawed characters that plunge into a spiral of deceit and intrigue.

The film unfolds at a lyrical pace, allowing each character to make space for itself before twisting into an unpredictable and satisfying weave of character dynamics. Jimmy Shergill fulfills the promise of Maachis and Haasil with his brilliant portrayal of a crumbling landlord at the mercy of dole-outs from his dead father’s mistress. This is a commanding performance and Jimmy carries it off with a dignified grace. Mahie Gill brings an edgy sensuality to her woman-on-the-verge, neurotic character. Randeep Hooda is convincing as he transitions from a clueless pawn-in-the-game to an over-ambitious-manipulator. Deepal Shaw sparkles yet again in her short role. And Shreya Narayan plays the other woman with seductive grace.

It is the play of text, subtext and raw sensuality between these players that makes Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster a royal treat. The mistress’ suggestive manipulations, the landlords’ quick-to-take-offense brittleness, the wife’s sharp taunts and the husband’s loaded repartees… Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster is first and foremost a product of brilliant writing. The scripting is crisp, true-to-character and crackles with electricity. The art direction, cinematography and soundtrack, all conspire to create a world that is utterly credible. So much so that when the pace of the film revs up towards the climax, it feels a bit rushed up while you would have wanted to linger on.

Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster is somewhat reminiscent of brilliant films like Vishal Bharadwaj’s Omkara and Maqbool and Sudhir Mishra’s Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi. With Abhishek Chaubey’s Ishqiya and Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster, we have the gen-next of filmmakers who stay true to the roots while weaving soaring, engaging narratives. May their tribe grow.

<Tushar A Amin is the author of Bollywood Themes and former editor of FHM India. Follow Tushar on twitter: @tusharaamin>

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