And I thought Anurag Kashyap had really stood out in Dev D, especially since playing a proven classic can be a tricky proposition. He succeeded and eminently! I had barely recovered from that incredible movie in which AK has unleashed another explosion of emotions with a relentless assault on our sensibilities. Set in the midst of the feudal spirit of Rajasthan, the story is about the pursuit of ambition, the accumulation of power, innocent and betrayed love. In the true setting of Shakespeare there are plots and subplots and yet a few more hidden beneath them, but each one interconnected to finally merge in the inevitable climax much like a Greek tragedy.

Except for Kay Kay Menon, almost everyone has a new face. The main protagonist, Raja Singh Chaudhary, is also the author of the story revolving around student politics, which was rewritten by Anurag Kashyap and Aparna Chaturvedi after incorporating sequential rebel regional aspirations into perceived injustices by the state. Very contemporary and yet so well portrayed! Kay Kay is the parochial manipulator who uses student politics to build a cadre to pursue his secessionist agenda. Abhinayu Pratap Singh is the lonely and reckless prince who tries to hide from his father’s riches. Aditya Srivastava and Ayesha Mohan are the prince’s half-blood Machiavellian brothers whose longing for legitimacy leads them to deception and murder. Deepak Dobriyal is Kay Kay and Man Friday’s main hitman. Mahie Gill as Kay’s lover Kay once again impresses with her liveliness and natural acting ability. Jesse Randhawa’s walk from the ramp to the screen is very promising.

I have a separate paragraph to dedicate to Piyush Mishra. The man so far has played small roles in various movies and has written the script for Black Friday, but in this picture he writes, composes the music, sings and acts as well. This will easily be one of the performances of the year, if not the decade. Music first! Don’t overlook the songs. Listen; listen to the lyrics and your jaw will drop. While “Arambh hai prachand” sounds like the battle cry, his rendition of “Duniya”, which is a cover of Pyaasa’s classic “Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaye To Kya hai”, manages to maintain its integrity and freshness. The mujra song “Rana ji” has to be one of the most original I have heard in a long time. Using traditional language and style, lyrics go global without warning. So with Mahie Gill’s sexy thumka, you are suddenly presented with a comment on your face about 9/11 (Jaise door desh ke tower main ghus jaye re airplane), Iraq, Afghanistan, democracy and the queue wars . Crazy imagination at its finest! Another beautiful composition is “Sheher” sung together with the talented Swanand Kirkire (Remember Khoya Khoya Chand). Mishra plays the role of Kay Kay’s schizophrenic musician older brother. He idolizes John Lennon, composes poetry on the spot and has an opinion on everything. The pathos on his face after losing his dancing consort is heartbreaking.

I feel like Anurag Kashyap is not just any filmmaker. His films are like a painting canvas where he tries to marry various forms of art. If the music resonates with popular songs and good poetry, the shots of Ram Leela’s practicing characters impart a color like that of a theater. If one song reminds you of wandering minstrels, the other carries the guitar strums of western country music. He is also a staunch romantic. Look for the John Lennon sketch peeking out from the mad poet’s medallion and posters of Che Guevara and Jimmy Hendrix in a neon-lit bar posing as a residence in the middle of the desert. For me this is better than any parallel art / cinema.