I was cheated: Anurag Kashyap reveals why he won't make more 'Gangs of Wasseypur' films

The two-part franchise was gory, gritty and a masterpiece

It's been ten years since Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur was released globally. The critically acclaimed film, which could very well be touted as a game-changer for the Indian film industry in the recent past, has been a cult classic. The two-part film was gory, gritty and a masterpiece.

Since then, the ace filmmaker was told that audiences wanted him to create a universe of the characters from Gangs of Wasseypur. The prolific director explained why it was not possible to make one. In an interview with Pinkvilla, Anurag commented he was 'cheated' and won't be making any more installments of the film.

"The studio won't be able to do it. It is very difficult," he told the publication. "The way the film is projected by the studio; A film that has worked so much. And the way we are working for the industry is that you sell your movie to yourself. Viacom made the movie and sold it to Colors. Now they claim that they didn't make the money and Colors is making the money. So, who's company is Colors? For them, Gangs of Wasseypur is still in a loss. 2 films made for Rs. 16.5 crores are still in a loss of Rs. 8 crores according to them."

Talking about how the cast was paid peanuts, Anurag added, "Richa Chadha was paid 2 lakhs. Huma Qureshi was paid 75 thousand. Some actors got paid 50 thousand. No one made much money on the film. Only the studio did. I have asked them to come and show you the profits. How can I make a sequel to a flop film? The studio has cheated its creators and actors and everyone involved in the film."

He added, "Since the IP is shared, even I don't let them do anything with it although they want to exploit it a lot. It was everyone's first film. Everyone struggled a lot. The film could not be made at the cost at which we made it. I exhausted my father's goodwill to make that film. The studio treated us unfairly and exploited us. I cannot go to them and ask them to do a film for me."

Anurag further shared, "I have given you value, 10 times as much for nothing because we were passionate to make the film.  In today's time, you can't fool the public. If Colors is making the money, where is it going? Till the actors themselves don't come to me to do another film, I won't do it and won't let anyone do it because exploitation is something I just don't stand for."

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.

From writers to actors, Gangs of Wasseypur made a star out of everyone who was part of the franchise. 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.