Gangs of Wasseypur turn 10, cast celebrates the 'modern classic'; hail the project as a star maker

The cast and crew of "Gangs of Wasseypur" celebrated the 10th anniversary of the film's release on Wednesday and described it as "iconic" and a "modern classic" that gave the Indian cinema a host of new talent.

Directed by Anurag Kashyap , two-part intergenerational revenge saga "Gangs of Wasseypur" received critical acclaim upon its release with mostly positive reviews and was commercially successful as well.

Set in Wasseypur, a small town near Dhanbad in Jharkhand, the film series chronicles the story of the coal mafia spread across three generations of a family entangled in crime, extortion and murder.

It starred Manoj Bajpayee in the lead and 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 films, shared a short throwback video clip of the promotions of the movie on Instagram and said "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 further said she feels grateful to be associated with the project.

"Loads of love to the team. The film did give a LOT of talent to the film industry... #10yearsofgangsofwasseypur #gangsofwasseypur," she added.

From writers to actors, "Gangs of Wasseypur" made a star out of everyone who was part of the film, said "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 ahead. 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 actor, who played the original patriarch Shahid Khan and father of Sardar Khan (Bajpayee), told PTI.

Co-written by Kashyap and Zeishan Quadri, the first part of "Gangs of Wasseypur" was released on June 22, 2012 and the second part hit the screens on August 8, 2012. The 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 about the film on their Instagram Stories.

Mishra, who also starred in the film as Nasir Ahmed, expressed his excitement for 10 years of the movie.

"10 years to Gangs of Wasseypur. Cheers to the entire team," he wrote alongside a series of photos.

Quotable dialogues such as ' Baap Ka, Dada Ka, Bhai Ka Sabka Badla Lega Re, Tera Faizal', 'Tumse Na Ho Payega', and 'Hazrat Hazrat', Qureshi's 'permission' scene and songs 'O Womaniya', 'Ik Bagal' and 'Kaala Rey' helped "Gangs of Wasseypur" further cement its cult status.

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 and received 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 @anuragkashyap72 Sir. So many of us are where we are today, because of him. Sir, it's time we had a GOW get together!" he wrote on Twitter.

Can’t believe it’s been 12-13 years since we began working on this!
I owe everything I am to @anuragkashyap72 Sir. So many of us are where we are today, because of him ❤️
Sir, it’s time we had a GOW get together! https://t.co/L8WaLM1Ske

— Jai Mehta (@JaiHMehta) June 22, 2022

Last month, Grover and Qureshi marked the 10th anniversary of the film's premiere at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight.

" Ten years to the world premiere of a film that opened gates to this industry for many of us. GANGS OF WASSEYPUR will always be the most special film of my career. The trust @anuragkashyap10 put in his team of mostly newcomers was so liberating that I still keep looking for that kind of good faith based collaboration in everything I do," Grover had written in an Instagram post.

Qureshi, who made her debut with "Gangs of Wassepur", had also thanked Kashyap on social media for giving her a 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 u @anuragkashyap72 for giving me this film AND a film career... and believing in me when no one did. Today so many people who have been part of that film are doing so well... can't believe how we made this film and had so much fun doing it."

The film series also featured Tigmanshu Dhulia , Reema Sen, Vineet Kumar Singh, Quadri and Jameel Khan .