Gangland Indian epic woos Cannes

With a folk-meets-dubstep soundtrack and a basis in true stories,the film follows three generations of coal and scrap-trade mafia gangs in a suburb in east India who are obsessed with traditional Hindi cinema.

The two-part film screened this week in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar section of the Cannes festival,to strong reviews.

“‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ puts Tarantino in a corner with its cool command of cinematically-inspired and referenced violence,ironic characters and breathless pace,” was how the Hollywood Reporter summed up the movie.

“There’s never a dull moment in this Indian gangland epic,” wrote Screen International.

Bollywood stars like to spice up the red carpet at Cannes but their movies seldom create a serious buzz.

Kashyap,who is also working with British “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle on a film about 1960s Mumbai,hopes Cannes exposure can help change perceptions of Indian cinema and boost ties with foreign film-makers.

His film was one of three examples at Cannes this year of a burgeoning,alternative Indian cinema that departs from commercial song-and-dance Bollywood hits so popular at home — but the other two met with more lukewarm reviews.

Kashyap also had a hand in the experimental “Peddlers”,which screened in the other main sidebar section at Cannes,Critics’ Week.

Directed by newcomer Vasan Bala and financed through appeals on Facebook,the Mumbai-set movie weaves together the stories of a cynical narcotics cop,and two youngsters who fall into the drug trade.

The Hollywood Reporter regretted its “confused,at times naive story-telling”,despite an “action-packed last half-hour.”

Likewise,Ashim Ahluwalia’s “Miss Lovely”,screened in the Un Certain Regard new talent section of the festival,drew a muted reception.

France’s Liberation newspaper said the storyline,about the sleazy world of 1980s “C” grade Hindi movies,had the potential to be fascinating,but was rendered “charmless” and “dull” through an overly-serious tone.