Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1

About the film

Gangs of Wasseypur is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language epic crime film directed by Anurag Kashyap, and written by Kashyap and Zeishan Quadri. It precedes Part 2 as the first of the two-part film, centered on the coal mafia of Dhanbad, and the underlying power struggles, politics and vengeance between three crime families from 1941 to the mid-1990s. Gangs of Wasseypur stars an ensemble cast, featuring Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadha, Reema Sen, Piyush Mishra, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vineet Kumar Singh, Pankaj Tripathi, Huma Qureshi, Anurita Jha and Tigmanshu Dhulia.

Although both parts were shot as a single film measuring a total of 319 minutes, no Indian theatre would screen a five-hour film, so it was divided into two parts. Gangs of Wasseypur was screened in its entirety at the 2012 Cannes Directors' Fortnight. It was also screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2013. It was filmed in Varanasi, Bihar, and Chunar, with these settings inspiring the film's soundtrack, which consists mainly of Indian folk.

Plot

During British colonial rule, the administration seizes agricultural lands in Dhanbad to initiate industrial coal mining. The neighboring village of Wasseypur is heavily dominated by the elite Qureshi butchers. In 1941, a Pashtun laborer named Shahid Khan is banished from Wasseypur for impersonating a legendary Qureshi bandit who plundered British transit trains. Shahid relocates his family to Dhanbad to work in the mines. When his wife tragically dies during labor, a vengeful Shahid murders the mine's abusive overseer who had denied him leave. Following India's Independence, the British mines are acquired by domestic industrialists, and Shahid is hired as a security enforcer by an aspiring tycoon, Ramadhir Singh. Recognizing Shahid's growing ambitions, Ramadhir orders his assassination via a hitman named Yadav. Although Ehsaan Qureshi is dispatched to eliminate Shahid's remaining lineage, Shahid’s young son, Sardar, escapes the purge, eventually learning the truth and vowing absolute vengeance against Ramadhir.

By 1965, Ramadhir transitions into politics, establishing a ruthless hegemony over the local labor unions. Following the nationalization of Indian coal mines in 1972, Ramadhir consolidates his authority by assassinating an uncooperative government official, cementing his status as the undisputed crime lord of Dhanbad. Concurrently, an adult Sardar marries Nagma Khatoon, fathering three sons: Danish, Faizal, and Babua. Tolerant of Sardar's hyperactive libido, Nagma permits his extramarital affairs. Operating under the radar, Sardar, his cousin Asgar, and Nasir work for Ramadhir’s son while covertly plundering Ramadhir's fuel stations and freight trains. A subsequent arrest alerts Ramadhir to the terrifying reality that Shahid Khan's heir is alive and waging a covert war against him.

In 1979, Sardar and Asgar execute a daring prison break. Seeking refuge in Wasseypur under the protection of Qamar Makhdoomi, Sardar takes a second wife, Durga. In the 1980s, Wasseypur is administratively merged into Dhanbad. The Qureshi clan, now led by the volatile Sultan, continues to oppress the non-Qureshi Muslim population. Makhdoomi enlists Sardar to neutralize the threat, prompting Sardar to launch a devastating series of bombing raids against Qureshi businesses and strongholds. This campaign establishes Sardar as a premier syndicate leader, eclipsing the Qureshis' authority. Sardar briefly reunites with Nagma, but when she becomes pregnant again, a frustrated Sardar returns to Durga, who gives birth to his fourth son, Definite.

Production

Anurag Kashyap said he had wanted to make a film on Bihar with the name Bihar for some time, but for various reasons it didn't take off. In 2008, he met Zeishan Quadri, who would then go on to write the script of the film, after he discussed with him Wasseypur's story. He found it unreal to believe that mafia activity and gang war existed at such a high level, and what really attracted him was not gang war but the entire story of the emergence of the mafia. According to him, to tell the story through a few families is what interested him but that also meant a longer reel. "We all know mafia exists but what they do, how they operate, why they do we don't know and that is something which forms the basis of the film".

According to Bajpayee, the role of Sardar Khan is the most negative role he has done till date. His motivation for doing this role came from the fact that there was "something new" with the character of Sardar Khan. Piyush Mishra and Tigmanshu Dhulia were given the discretion to decide who, among them, would perform the roles of Nasir and Ramadhir. Mishra chose the role of Nasir and Dhulia portrayed Ramadhir Singh. Chadda revealed in an interview that this role helped her bag 11 film roles. This was Huma Qureshi's first film, and she characterised this as her "dream debut". Qureshi landed this role after director Anurag Kashyap spotted her in a Samsung commercial he was directing.

Major portions of the film were shot in the state of Uttar Pradesh, mainly in the district of Sonbhadra Varanasi. Shooting also took place in Anpara, Obra Chunar. During filming in Varanasi in December 2010, the film's chief assistant director, Sohil Shah, died while performing one of the stunt shot scenes. The movie was dedicated to Sohil Shah, as is seen in the opening titles. The film finished production in late March 2011.

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