Gangs of Wasseypur at ten: 50 memorable details from the film
As Anurag Kashyap's epic, the pop-culture-shifting film turns 10, we scramble through scenes, moments and trivia that make it so iconic
Team CE
1. The film begins with the title sequence of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. It’s an ironic, yet fitting, reference. Anurag Kashyap’s revenge saga is also narrated from the perspective of a family.2. The film oozes with double entendres. “Put the pipe in the hole and shoot,” yells a gunman in the opening shootout.3. Piyush Mishra’s opening voiceover—“There are two kinds of people in this world…”—was inspired by a similar line from Omkara (2006).4. Shahid Khan (Jaideep Ahlawat) bludgeons a man to death. Instead of Styrofoam, Anurag sourced a real coal piece for authenticity.5. Yadav ji, who shoots Shahid Khan and is later shot by his grandson Faizal, never speaks in the film.6. Sardar Khan (Manoj Bajpayee) canvassing passengers for ‘Jharia, Giridih, Dhanbad, Wasseypur’. All coal towns in present-day Jharkhand.7. Late politician and union leader Surajdeo Singh was the inspiration for Ramadhir Singh. Interestingly, Ramadhir is the name of one of Surajdeo’s brothers.8. “Goli nahi marenge…” Sardar confides in Nagma (Richa Chaddha) his desire for revenge. Eyes closed, she moans in agreement.9. Ramadhir demonstrates how coal is dunked in water to fudge its weight.10. “Hey, did you kill him?” Sardar asks Nasir at a petrol pump they hold up. The deadpan way Piyush Mishra replies ‘pata nahi (don’t know)’ is hilarious.11. A pregnant Nagma chases Sardar out of a brothel. Yes, that’s Vicky Kaushal behind the window grille.12. Sardar often slips up in stressful situations. Here he drops his ‘chappal’ running to the getaway car. Years later, he can’t find the keys.13. 'Keh Ke Lunga', sung by Amit Trivedi and Sneha Khanwalkar, tells of snakes, wild cockroaches and milk dripping from open blades. Lyrics: Varun Grover.14. One of the prettiest shots in the film.15. Sardar cuts JP Singh down to size in front of his father. “Even the biggest balls…”16. Ehsaan Qureshi (Vipin Sharma) gets slapped by Ramadhir for bluffing him years ago. Ehsaan’s decision to let Sardar escape kicks the hornet’s nest.17. Marathi actor Suhas Sirsat cameos as the singer in Bhoos Ke Dher. The song satirizes the empty promises of Indian politicians.18. Sardar’s nail bomb doesn’t go off in the first try.19. Durga is from ‘Asansol’, a coal-and-steel town in West Bengal 70 kms from Dhanbad. Durga is a Bengali Hindu, who becomes Sardar’s second wife.20. Manoj Bajpayee was down with fever while shooting this early morning scene.21. Sardar knives Pehelwan in broad daylight. Notice the Guide (1965) post22. In the slaughterhouse sequence, the actor meant to play the cop bailed at the last minute. Faisal Malik, then an assistant on the film, was told to dress up and play the role.Pankaj Tripathi’s words to him—“Yeh Wasseypur hai…”—became iconic.23. Sardar’s country-made pistol effs up. “Phat ke flower” is how it’s described. The faulty pistols make a comeback in the series Mirzapur.24. The film is filled with colourful chase sequences. Here, Asgar escapes after attacking a Qureshi.25. Pankaj Tripathi glowering menacingly is a meme.26. Nagma, Danish and Faizal watch Sardar and Durga together. The scene marks a turning point for Faizal.27. In a comic scene, Nasir comes between Nagma and Danish and gets whupped. Pain is Nasir’s lot: he self-flagellates out of shame and defeat throughout the film.28. A young Mohsina stands outside a movie theatre. There’s a callback to this after she grows up.29. Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki, a 1984 Mithun Chakraborty film referenced here, is also a story of generational revenge. Mithun avenges his father’s killing at the hands of Amrish Puri.30. “Hazraat… Hazraat… Hazraat.” Enough said.31. Sardar, out to commit a murder, wants a heroic entry. But he’s kicking the door the wrong way.32. Much of the gruesome violence in Wasseypur happens off screen. Here, Sardar forces the rapist to ‘watch’ as his friend is hacked.33. When Sultan visits Ramadhir for the first time, Ramadhir’s wife offers to serve food in china plates, since the guests are Muslim.34. Manoj Bajpayee improvised the ‘chabi kaha hai?’ scene.35. Sardar plays the protective, overreacting father in this hospital scene. It also yields the film’s most innovative slang: ‘blind of arse’.36. Faizal (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) tears up watching the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Trishul (1974). In that film, Bachchan and his mother are abandoned by his father, mirroring Faizal’s fate in Wasseypur37. Faizal’s hairstyle, too, is fashioned on 70s Bachchan.38. In this scene, a cute exchange happens between Nagma and Sardar. Modern appliances have made their way into the Khan household: fridge, vacuum cleaner.39. Faizal embosses his initials onto one of the guns. This helps him trace it back to Yadav ji (also watch out for the Taxi Driver nod before the mirror)40. On the train, Faizal encounters two nameless characters, undercover cops for Yadav ji’s racket. One of them follows Faizal back to his home.41. ‘I am a Hunter’ is a rare English-heavy song in the localised soundtrack. It’s a slice of Chutney music, a fusion of Indo-Caribbean sounds with colonial roots.42. Sultan clobbers Ehsaan outside Ramadhir’s house. It’s a funny yet weird scene: Ehsaan is Sultan’s adoptive uncle.43. Pramod Pathak plays the double role of Sultana Daku/Badoor Qureshi. Sultan even remarks on their facial similarity.44. Yashpal Sharma appears as the wedding singer, doing both the male and female voices.45. Fake Ray-Bans are all the rage in Wasseypur. Mohsina and Faizal keep sporting them throughout.46. The goat in the ‘permission’ scene was accidental.47. Fazlu analyzes the Amitabh Bachchan movies Zanjeer and Deewaar. In both, Bachchan is seeking revenge, but on opposite sides of the law.48. A poster of Maine Pyar Kiya, signalling the start of the 90s.49. Two phone calls sound the bell for Sardar’s death: one by Fazlu and the other by Durga50. The final shootout recalls the killing of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather. Anurag argued in an interview that this is how the actual event went down.