Revisiting Gangs of Wasseypur: 30+ lesser-known facts about Anurag Kashyap’s gangster epic
From composer Sneha Khanwelkar travelling to Trinidad to record Chutney music to Shlok Sharma getting locked-up in jail, here’s all that went behind the making of a modern classic.
The film had a total of four writers: Zeishan Quadri, Anurag Kashyap, Akhilesh Jaiswal and Sachin K. Ladia.
Zeishan Quadri had approached Anurag with the story in 2008. At the time, the director had found it similar to City of God (2002).
The film is based on the real-life rivalry between Surya Dev Singh and Shafiq Khan.
Surya Dev Singh was an MLA from Jharia in Dhanbad District. He was mentored by former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar Singh. Ramadhir Singh, too, has a nameless mentor in the film.
GOW was produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures after UTV Movies backed out.
The initial producers wanted Ajay Devgn to play Ramadhir Singh. Anurag felt a star would disbalance the film.
The character of Faizal Khan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is based on gangster Faheem Khan.
Both films were made on a combined budget of Rs. 18.4 crore.
The film was shot in Varanasi, Chunar, Allahabad, Bihar, Jharkhand and Mumbai.
GOW opens with Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi playing on a tv set. The time on the wall clock is 10.30 pm, the actual telecast slot of the show.
The slaughterhouse scenes were filmed at an actual slaughter house in Allahabad.
The sounds of the flooded coal mine were created later. The actual mine was dry.
Assistant director Shlok Sharma was put in lock-up for shooting at a railway track.
Although unintroduced, Sardar Khan’s fifth son was named Parallel.
Vicky Kaushal was an assistant director on GOW. He was also a background extra in the brothel scene.
The permission scene between Faizal and Mohsina was borrowed from Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s life.
Composer Sneha Khanwalkar travelled to Trinidad to record Chutney music. It became the basis of 'Hunter'
The complete soundtrack has a total of 25 songs.
GV Prakash composed the background score for both films.
The song Chhichhaledar was voiced by Durga, a busking artist from Andhra Pradesh who sang on Mumbai trains.
Gangs of Wasseypur was screened in the Director's Fortnight section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
Director Tigmanshu Dhulia made his acting debut as Ramadhir Singh. Anurag had previously acted in Tigmanshu’s Shagird (2011).
Richa Chadha, who played Nawazuddin’s Siddiqui’s mother, is thirteen years younger to him.
The two-part release of Gangs of Wasseypur was influenced by the Vincent Cassel-starrer French gangster drama Mesrine.
Gangs of Wasseypur won the National Film Award for Best Audiography (Alok De, Sinoy Joseph and Sreejesh Nair)
Assistant director Sohil Shah died in a car accident during the making of the film.
Piyush Mishra initially wanted to play the part of Ramadhir Singh.
The film opens with a tribute to the Madurai Triumvirate of Bala, Ameer and Sasikumar. Sasikumar’s Subramaniapuram was a big inspiration for GOW.
Other influences included Nurul Hasan Pulak, Sam Peckinpah, Francis Ford Coppola, Quentin Tarantino, Sergio Leone and David Michod.
The name Sardar Khan was suggested by Manoj Bajpayee. The character was initially called Zeeshan Khan.
Anurag and Manoj weren’t on talking terms for years. They had previously worked together on Satya, Shool and Kaun.
Gangs of Wasseypur was the only Indian film in The Guardian's 100 best films of the 21st century.
The makers ran a fake electoral campaign to market the second part.
GOW was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2013.
Martin Scorsese had appreciated Gangs of Wasseypur and Dev D in a letter, calling them ‘exciting and inspiring’.
Indo-Canadian rapper Horsepowar sampled a track from the film for 'Hi Everybody'.
In 2018, Anurag had dismissed rumours of Gangs of Wasseypur 3.
In the film, Faizal Khan is a big fan of Amitabh Bachchan. The megastar had loved the film and dubbed it ‘Indian Cinema at its best’.
