The French Riveira was transformed into rural India on the 21st of May 2012, as Gangs Of Wasseypur, the much-anticipated film by acclaimed director Anurag Kashyap, was celebrated at a special star-studded cocktail party, hosted by Viacom18 Motion Pictures, to honour its inclusion in the prestigious 65th Cannes Film Festival’s Director’s Fortnight – the first time that a mainstream Bollywood film has had this honour.
Hailed as one of the most happening Bollywood parties of Cannes this year, gangs of curious guests at the cocktail party, which was held at the stunning NFDC Indian Pavilion, were given red branded gamchchas (bandanas) which are symbolic to the film. The international media, film executives, and VIPs took to wearing the gamchchas with pride to demonstrate their appreciation for the film. The gamchchas projected an earthy vibe of the film, which deals with 60 years of a feuding family’s life in the coal mining town of Dhanabad in Jarkhand, India.
.JPG)
Attendees were also welcomed by a champagne cocktail reception and treated to mouth-watering Indian delicacies, which brought a taste of India to Cannes.
Anurag Kashyap and the film’s actress and rising Bollywood beauty Huma Qureshi, who experienced Cannes’ very own monsoon, greeted the flurry of media who interviewed them about their upcoming Indian blockbuster.
Gangs Of Wasseypur, a mainstream Indian film, combines clever filmmaking with a powerful, high-concept and entertaining plot, with revenge at its core. Accentuated by strong 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 parts. Gangs Of Wasseypur represents the brave new Indian cinema breaking the cliches and conventions, something which Anurag Kashyap has come to be known for. The film is presented by one of India’s leading integrated film companies, Viacom18 Motion Pictures and produced by AKFPL.
The world premiere of Gangs Of Wasseypur will be held on the 22nd of May 2012 at the ‘Directors Fortnight’ at the Marriott, Cannes. Other highlights for the film during the festival week will include a debate forum on Bollywood’s changing place within Indian cinema on the 23rd of May.
Gangs Of Wasseypur Will Be First Mainstream Indian Film To Be Screened At Directors Fortnight At The Star-Studded Cannes Film Festival 2012
The Indian cinematic masterpiece Gangs Of Wasseypur, is set to make film history as the first mainstream Bollywood film to be part of the 65th Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight segment.
Gangs Of Wasseypur is a mainstream Indian film, which tells an epic tale, spanning 60 years of two feuding families set against the backdrop of the rural coal mining communities in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India. It combines clever filmmaking with a powerful, high-concept and entertaining plot, with revenge at its core. Accentuated by strong 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 parts. Generating widespread interest from critics and audiences alike, Gangs Of Wasseypur represents the brave new Indian cinema breaking the cliches and conventions, something which Anurag Kashyap has come to be known for.
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, the morden adaptation of an Indian classic ‘DevD’ and the critically accalimed ‘That Girl in Yellow Boots’ He is also the award-winning screenwriter of such international cinematic successes as ‘Satya’ and ‘Water’.
The film is presented by one of India’s leading integrated film companies, Viacom18 Motion Pictures and produced by AKFPL, the world premiere of Gangs Of Wasseypur will be held on the 22nd of May 2012 at the ‘Directors Fortnight’ at the Marriott. Other highlights for the film during the festival week included cocktails hosted by Viacom18 Motion Pictures at the NFDC India Pavilion on the 21st of May, and a debate forum on Bollywood’s changing place within Indian cinema on the 23rd of May.
Viacom18 Motion Pictures has been at the forefront of creating & marketing new age exciting, Indian Cinema. The studio’s presence at the Cannes Film Festival 2012 will be a holistic celebration of Indian cinema’s vast contribution to the world of entertainment.
Anurag Kashyap, Director, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ says “The most rooted and passionate experiences happen in the first few films and I thought I was through with that.GOW dragged me back to my roots and gave me the same excitement back as my first. A space I knew a space I discovered and my growing up I relived again through these bumbling yet violent gangsters of Wasseypur”.
Vikram Malhotra, Chief Operating Officer, Viacom18 Motion Pictures says “We are delighted with the selection of ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ for the prestigious ‘Director’s Fortnight’ at the Festival de Cannes. The selection of this film is a testimony to mainstream Indian cinema going global and Viacom18 Motion Pictures is proud to be driving this fresh perspective, with our supremely talented partner and director, Anurag Kashyap.
At Viacom18 Motion Pictures, along with our avant-garde studio brand ‘Tipping Point Films’, we constantly strive to create and connect engaging and entertaining content to across the world. It is this belief, that in just two years of operations, Viacom18 is already a force to reckon with in the Indian entertainment industry”.
Gangs of Wasseypur releases in theatres on 22nd June 2012.
