Gangs Of Wasseypur : Redefining Indian Cinema

 

Gangs of Wasseypur is a 2012 Indian two-part crime film, produced and directed by Anurag Kashyap, and written by Kashyap and Zeishan Quadri. Centered on the coal mafia (Mafia Raj) of Dhanbad, and the underlying power struggles, politics and vengeance between three crime families, the film features an ensemble cast, with Manoj Bajpai, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Richa Chadda, Huma Qureshi and Tigmanshu Dhulia in the major roles. Its story spans from 1941 to 2009. Both parts were originally shot as a single film measuring a total of 321 minutes and screened at the 2012 Cannes Directors' Fortnight, but, since no Indian theatre would volunteer to screen a more-than-five-hour film, it was divided into two parts for the Indian market.

Anurag had also revealed twice - once in 2010 and once in 2018 - that the Tamil movie, Subramaniapuram (2008) was the inspiration for this movie series.[7] Both parts of the film are available for online streaming on Netflix, Prime Video, Voot Select, Kanopy and MX Player.

Most characters in this film are from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Wasseypur.

Anurag Kashyap‘s Gangs Of Wasseypur will forever remain a cult classic because the brilliance in creating something so unconventional yet relatable does not happen in Indian cinema very often. From the story to the music, everything about this movie was an experiment so successful that it is spoken about even today as it completes eight years of its release.

Director Anurag Kashyap and the cast of this movie put in their heart and soul to create this masterpiece. In order to celebrate this incredible film, we will share 21 fascinating facts about the film as well as about the brilliant people involved in it.

1) Despite having worked together for Satya, Shool, and Kaun, Anurag Kashyap and Manoj Bajpayee hadn’t been on talking terms for a while. Kashyap was certain about the fact that no one but Manoj could play the role of Sardar Khan. So when he called him asking if he wanted to hear the script, the director wasn’t sure about Manoj’s answer. Interestingly, Manoj agreed instantly and reached Kashyap’s house at 11:30 PM where he sat with a bottle of red wine and heard the narration. The only thing Manoj said after it was done was that his character’s name should be ‘Sardar Khan’ and that’s how this iconic character was named.

2) Vipin Sharma played the role of Ehsaan Qureshi in the movie and in order to keep the authenticity of the character, a lot of scenes were shot at original butcher markets with the mud around being mixed with blood and body parts of animals. Vipin threw up numerous times during the shoot.

3) Anurag Kashyap and his team quit meat for a brief time because during the shoot, they witnessed over 60 buffaloes and camels being butchered right in front of their eyes.

4) It was Manoj Bajpayee who recommended Jaideep Alhawat to Anurag Kashyap when he was finding the right person to play Shahid Khan’s character.

5) Anurag likes to keep things in his movies as realistic as possible. The initial part of the movie has a scene where Shahid Khan is being hit by the guards who are responsible for the workers at the coal mine. The scene was supposed to be shot with artificial coal sacks full of foam in it but Kashyap being Kashyap, he changed it to real sacks of coal at the last minute.

6) Kashyap was having a tough time in picking a place that could be shown as Sardar Khan’s house and he eventually decided to shoot the scenes in a house where his brother Abhinav was born and the two had spent their childhood. Various locations used in the movie are actually places where Kashyap has spent his life and had vivid memories of them in this mind.

7) Pankaj Tripathi did a brilliant job in playing Sultan Qureshi and his character’s courage was described by a statement that mentioned how he could skin 60 buffaloes all by himself in a single day. His character’s inspiration was drawn while the movie was being shot. Anurag saw a 12-year-old boy butchering a buffalo all by himself and he couldn’t help but wonder how fearless this young lad would be when he grows up and that’s how the character of Sultan Qureshi was presented in the movie.

8) Anurag suffered a major setback when the airline lost his luggage that had the film’s script in it. He ended up spending two days at the airport waiting for the airlines to find his bag.

9) Gangs of Wasseypur also features Anurag’s assistant directors in two of its songs. One can see Vasan Bala during the ‘Bhoos Ke Dher Mein Rai Ka Dana‘ track that plays while Sardar Khan plots a plan to escape jail. Similarly,  Shlok Sharma can be spotted in ‘I Am A Hunter‘. Bala has co-written Ugly and Bombay Velvet with Anurag Kashyap while Shlok Sharma went on to direct Haramkhor and Zoo.

10) Anurag lost his Chief Assistant Director Sohil Shah to a mishap that took place on the sets of this movie. While shooting in Banaras, there was a scene that required the jeep to cross a bridge. The team had a dedicated driver to complete this task but Sohil decided to go ahead and do this himself. Sohil was on the bridge when he saw two people walking on it and the sudden turn that was taken by him eventually took his life. He suffered a brain hemorrhage and was declared dead by the time they got him to the hospital.ut the brilliant people involved in it.