The Reluctant Watch That Became a Binge.

The Reluctant Watch That Became a Binge: My quick take on movie “Nishanchee 1&2” (Amazon Prime)

Let me confess at the very outset: the poster of Nishanchee gave me a déjà vu so strong, I almost checked whether Guns & Gulaabs had quietly released an unofficial cousin. It also reminded me of those pulpy “thriller kahaniyas” stacked at A.H. Wheeler stalls on railway platforms, the kind you buy only when your train is late and your standards drop. Naturally, I avoided the movie for a respectable amount of time.

Second reason? No familiar faces to latch onto. My celebrity radar showed “no signal”.

But then I heard the sacred words: Directed by Anurag Kashyap. You may hate him, loathe him, disagree with every interview he has ever given, but ignoring his creative madness is simply not an option. And Nishanchee? Arre bhai, yeh toh ekdum nishane pe lagta hai.

After a string of cinematic disasters post-GOW; Manmarziyaan and Dobaaraa evaporating faster than a soap bubble on a summer afternoon, Kashyap seems to have returned to his trusted GOW-flavoured blueprint. And surprise, surprise: the man delivers a GOW-lite, diet-friendly, yet masala-rich version that goes down remarkably well.

Every single frame screams KASHYAP like a watermark:

– that glorious soup of eccentric casting

– the writing that thinks faster than the audience

– a screenplay that sprints like it’s late for a train

– music and lyrics that feel like inside jokes from parallel universes

– camera work that deserves its own IMDb page

– those indulgent long shots

– and of course, his trademark “spiralling runtime”, where the editor probably just shrugged and said, “Sir, theek hai.”

Aishwarya Thackeray, the newcomer with a surname that can open half of Mumbai’s doors, is genuinely impressive. A double role with two sharply distinct personalities, and he pulls it off so flawlessly that for a moment you suspect Kashyap used AI (the good kind, not Bollywood deepfake level).

Monika Panwar? She delivers her full-blown Mother India moment. A young actor playing a mother with the gravitas of Anupam Kher in Saaransh, convincing, grounded, and quietly powerful. Even Vedika Pinto brings her A-game.

And then the veterans, Kumud Mishra and Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub, show up and do what they always do: act like acting is the easiest thing in the world. Vineet Kumar Singh (our beloved Mukkebaaz) pops in for a cameo and punches above his screentime.

Like Gangs of Wasseypur, Nishanchee also suffers from an enthusiastic abundance of footage and had to be split into two parts. But the bigger tragedy? I started the film reluctantly… only to find myself helplessly binge-watching into Part 2. That’s the Kashyap effect, once he hooks you, he reels you in like a fisherman with no mercy.

Shock of the century: on the profanity meter the film scores surprisingly low. Yes, you can watch this one with family without clutching the remote like a censorship ninja.

Action, though? Kashyap momentarily forgets his “bloodless violence” pledge, so there’s some splatter. Ketchup or blood, viewer’s choice.

The photography and music don’t just support the film, they practically become characters. Honestly, they deserve their own credit rolls and maybe a post-release press conference.

Overall, Is it worth spending nearly six hours on Nishanchee?

Absolutely “YES”, because this time, Kashyap’s nishaana not only hits the bullseye, it redraws the target around itself.