Gangs of Wasseypur in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight

In the list of films that have been selected to be showcased under the Directors’ Fortnight section at the prestigious Festival de Cannes is Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur. The two-part film will be screened during the festival,which will take place between May 16 and May 27. Produced by Viacom 18,Gangs of Wasseypur is the second Indian film to be shown under the section after Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen in 1994. Also travelling to Cannes is Kashyap’s home production,Peddlers,which has been officially selected under the un Certain Regard category. Directed by the Vasan Bala — who has assisted Kashyap on several films — it is the second Indian film after Vikramaditya Motwane’s Udaan (2010) to make it to this category. “Three of our films have made it to Cannes this year. I am very happy,” said an elated Kashyap,who is currently out of the country. Gangs of Wasseypur is a gangster revenge drama spanning six decades and three generations set in Wasseypur,a small,cinema-obsessed section of Dhanbad,a city in Jharkhand. The film’s cast does not include big stars,and Manoj Bajpayee is in one of the key roles. The film will release in two parts in India,with the first release slated for June. At Cannes,however,Kashyap will be the second filmmaker after Quentin Tarantino with Kill Bill to showcase both parts of a series at one go. Peddlers,on the other hand,is set in Mumbai and revolves around a woman on a mission,a man living a lie and a drifter.