Gangs of Wasseypur is an Indian Hindi-language crime film directed by Anurag Kashyap, released in 2012. Conceived as a single epic narrative, the film was split into two parts for theatrical release due to its length of over five hours. It traces three generations of feuding families in the coal mining region of Dhanbad, in present-day Jharkhand, against the backdrop of India's political and industrial transformation from the 1940s to the 2000s.
Key Facts
| Title | Gangs of Wasseypur |
|---|---|
| Director | Anurag Kashyap |
| Writers | Anurag Kashyap, Akhilesh Jaiswal, Sachin Ladia, Zeishan Quadri |
| Producers | Anurag Kashyap, Sunil Bohra, Guneet Monga |
| Production companies | AKFPL, Sikhya Entertainment |
| Music | Sneha Khanwalkar |
| Cinematography | Rajeev Ravi |
| Editor | Shweta Venkat Mathew |
| Language | Hindi (with Bhojpuri, Urdu and regional inflections) |
| Setting | Wasseypur, Dhanbad (Jharkhand) |
| Part 1 release | 22 June 2012 (India) |
| Part 2 release | 8 August 2012 (India) |
| Festival premiere | Cannes Directors' Fortnight, May 2012 |
Overview
The film follows the bloody rivalry between the Khan family and the Singh family, set in and around the coal belt of Dhanbad. Beginning with the exploitation of coal labourers in the late colonial period, the narrative moves through the nationalisation of coal mines in the 1970s, the rise of trade union politics, and the eventual descent of the protagonists into organised crime, scrap mafia, and political muscle.
Cast
- Manoj Bajpayee as Sardar Khan
- Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Faizal Khan
- Tigmanshu Dhulia as Ramadhir Singh
- Richa Chadha as Nagma Khatoon
- Huma Qureshi as Mohsina
- Piyush Mishra as Nasir Ahmed (also the film's narrator)
- Jaideep Ahlawat as Shahid Khan
- Zeishan Quadri as Definite
- Vineet Kumar Singh as Danish Khan
- Pankaj Tripathi as Sultan
- Rajkummar Rao as Shamshad Alam
Background and development
The story is loosely inspired by real events and feuds in the coal mafia of Dhanbad, particularly in the Wasseypur locality. Co-writer Zeishan Quadri, a native of Wasseypur, brought first-hand familiarity with the region's social and criminal landscape. The screenplay weaves in references to Hindi cinema across decades, treating Bollywood itself as a cultural force shaping the aspirations and self-image of small-town characters.
Filming was carried out largely on location in Varanasi, Dhanbad, Bokaro and surrounding areas, with the production seeking authenticity in dialect, costume and milieu. The two parts were shot together as a continuous production.
Music
The soundtrack, composed by Sneha Khanwalkar with lyrics by Varun Grover, Piyush Mishra and others, drew on folk traditions of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. Songs such as "Womaniya", "Keh Ke Loonga", "Jiya Tu Bihar Ke Lala", "Taar Bijli" and "Ek Bagal Mein Chand Hoga" received wide attention for their ethnographic flavour and unconventional vocal casting, with several tracks performed by non-professional singers recorded in the field.
Release and reception
Both parts of the film premiered at the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2012 before their Indian theatrical release. Critical response in India and internationally was strongly positive, with praise for its sweep, performances, dialogue and music. The film helped cement the careers of Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Richa Chadha, Huma Qureshi, Pankaj Tripathi and Vineet Kumar Singh in mainstream Hindi cinema, and established Manoj Bajpayee in a renewed lead phase.
Themes
- Coal, capital and power in eastern India
- Generational cycles of revenge
- Communal coexistence and tension in the coal belt
- The cultural saturation of Bollywood in small-town life
- The intertwining of crime, trade unions and electoral politics
Significance
Gangs of Wasseypur is widely regarded as a landmark of post-2000 Hindi cinema. It is credited with reviving interest in long-form, regionally rooted storytelling within commercial Bollywood, and with bringing dialect-heavy, character-driven crime drama into mainstream attention. The film has been cited in academic and critical writing on Indian cinema for its treatment of the Dhanbad coal mafia, its use of folk music, and its self-reflexive engagement with the history of Hindi films. It later featured in international lists of notable 21st-century cinema, and influenced a wave of subsequent Indian crime dramas in film and on streaming platforms.
Sequels and adaptations
Co-writer Zeishan Quadri later directed a connected film, Wasseypur: The Beginning-styled spin-off projects and other crime dramas drawing on the same milieu. Several actors from the ensemble went on to lead crime series on Indian streaming platforms, including projects produced by Anurag Kashyap's collaborators.