The Indian cinematic masterpiece Gangs Of Wasseypur, is set to make film history as the first commerical Bollywood film to be part of the 65th Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight segment.
Produced and presented by one of India’s leading integrated film companies, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, with the young, cutting-edge film director Anurag Kashyap at the helm, Gangs Of Wasseypur is a mainstream commercial Indian film, which tells an epic tale, spanning 60 years of a feuding family’s life set against the backdriop of the rural coal communities in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India.
Gangs Of Wasseypur combines clever filmmaking with a powerful, high-concept and entertaining plot, with revenge at its core. Accentuated by esteemed performances by a talented and eclectic cast comprising of Hindi cinemas finest, Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Richa Chadda, the film is cleverly told in two separate films. Generating widespread interest from critics and audiences alike, Gangs Of Wasseypur breaks with Indian cinema conventions and from what we have heard does it brilliantly.
Anurag Kashyap is renowned for his work in creating a niche in Indian cinema’s ‘avant-garde’ space. He is also the mastermind behind Indian cinematic directorials as Black Friday, a controversial and award-winning film about the 1993 Mumbai bombings, and the award-winning screenwriter of such international cinematic successes as Satya and Water.
Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and the Cannes Film Festival will hold special media and trade screenings of Gangs Of Wasseypur on the 22nd of May 2012. Other highlights for the film during the festival week will include cocktails hosted by Viacom18 Motion Pictures at the NFDC India Pavilion, and a debate forum on Bollywood’s changing place within Indian cinema.
Viacom 18 Motion Pictures’ presence at the Cannes Film Festival 2012 will be a holistic celebration of Indian cinema’s vast contribution to the world of entertainment.