10 years of 'Gangs of Wasseypur': How the cult classic changed Bollywood for good

The cast and crew of Gangs of Wasseypur celebrated the film’s 10th anniversary on Wednesday, dubbing it an "iconic modern classic" that gave the Indian cinema a host of new talent, reported PTI. The Anurag Kashyap directorial was a huge success, garnering critical acclaim and mass appeal in both India and Pakistan.

The two-part intergenerational crime saga set in Wasseypur, a small town near Dhanbad in Jharkhand, India, chronicled the story of the coal mafia spread across three generations of a family entangled in crime, extortion and murder. Starring Manoj Bajpayee, the film managed to bring to the forefront the then-budding actors, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Richa Chadha, Huma Qureshi, Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi and Jaideep Ahlawat.

Chadha, who played the feisty matriarch Nagma Khatun and Sardar Khan's first wife in the saga, shared a short throwback video clip from the promotions of the film on her Instagram handle, to share how Gangs of Wasseypur changed not just the landscape of Indian cinema but her life too.

"Celebrating 10 years since the birth of this modern classic! Not a day goes by when I don't think about the impact this film has had on the landscape of Indian Cinema, and my life," she wrote. The actor concluded by expressing her gratitude for being a part of the project, "Loads of love to the team. The film did give a lot of talent to the film industry.” 

From writers to actors, Gangs of Wasseypur made a star out of everyone who was part of the franchise, according to The Broken News star Ahlawat. "It is an iconic film that gave a new form to Indian cinema. The director was already a big star then. But this film made stars out of writers, actors, everyone. All of them went on to do some great work. That film proved to be very lucky for all of us. The name of Gangs of Wasseypur will be remembered till the time people talk about Indian cinema," the outlet quoted the actor, who played the original patriarch Shahid Khan and father of Sardar Khan in the film.

Co-written by Kashyap and Zeishan Quadri, the first part of Gangs of Wasseypur came out on June 22, 2012. While the second part hit cinema screens on August 8, 2012. The film’s soundtrack was composed by Sneha Khanwalkar and Piyush Mishra with lyrics penned by Mishra and Varun Grover.

Kashyap and Bajpayee both shared several fan posts to mark the film’s anniversary too. Mishra, who starred in the film as Nasir Ahmed, wrote alongside a series of photos, "10 years to Gangs of Wasseypur. Cheers to the entire team.” 

The film also had many quotable dialogues such as “Baap Ka, Dada Ka, Bhai Ka, Sabka Badla Lega Re,” and “Tumse Na Ho Payega,” which further cemented its cult status. Then there were songs that can’t be forgotten to this day, including O Womaniya, Ik Bagal and Kaala Rey. The film was screened in its entirety at the 2012 Cannes Directors' Fortnight, becoming one of the only Hindi-language films to achieve this feat. It also received an overwhelming response at various film festivals across the globe.

Jai Mehta, who, along with Neeraj Ghaywan and Vicky Kaushal, served as an assistant director on Gangs of Wassepur, said he “owes his career” to the film's director. "Can't believe it's been 12-13 years since we began working on this! I owe everything I am to Anurag Kashyap sir. So many of us are where we are today because of him. Sir, it's time we had a GOW get-together!" he tweeted. 

Qureshi, who made her debut with Gangs of Wassepur, also thanked Kashyap on social media for giving her the big break. "My first film, the first time I saw myself on the big screen and my first time at Cannes. It was a crazy special day indeed... Thank you, Anurag Kashyap, for giving me this film and a career... and believing in me when no one did.”
Gangs of Wassepur also featured Tigmanshu Dhulia, Reema Sen, Vineet Kumar Singh, Quadri and Jameel Khan.

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