Gangs of Wasseypur: The Making of a Modern Classic

by Jigna Kothari, Supriya Madangarli

Running close to five hours and thirty minutes and boasting of no big stars, Gangs of Wasseypur is unlike any Hindi film you might have watched.It is also one of the most feted Hindi films of recent times in international circles. It has been spoken of as India's answer to landmark gangster films of the west, like The Godfather. In Gangs of The Making of a Modern Classic, the authors go behind the scenes through its chaotic gestation to bring to life the trials and tribulations, the triumphs and ecstasies involved in following one's dream. Including the complete screenplay, the book is as much a testimony to the spirit of everyone associated with the film as it is a tribute to the intellectual honesty and indefatigable spirit of its director, Anurag Kashyap.

490 pages, Paperback

First published November 26, 2013

Reviews

[E.T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book during an extremely busy schedule and it fulfilled its purpose. I am a Bollywood buff but not an Anurag Kashyap fan. Think that except for Gulaal which is one of d best movies ever made, Kashyap's work is overrated.
To me GOW was good but overrated again. And so this will be a great read for a Kashyap/GOW fan. But for the same reason its intricate details of the making bored me and I felt lost sometimes. Still a good read.

[Gorab · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★½☆
A collection of behind the scenes, making of the film, screenplay, interviews and trivia.
I did not like this collection for various fallacies. However I would still recommend this for a couple of Golden chapters - songs and Kashyap.

Loved:
1. Story behind each of its out of the box soundtrack - how the regional songs were carved into a presentable form - still keeping the original knock.

2. Peeking into the mind of Kashyap - the thought process for the various themes in his films, feasibility and extent of experiments he's allowed to exercise.

Hated:
1. The screenplay! - Duh! Its in English! Why? The whole essence of Wasseypur dialogues are lost in the lame anglicized version of screenplay!

2. The screenplay - 300 pages of it! Trash!

3. All other sections of the book has mixed hindi phrases (without translations) - in conversations, explanations. Everywhere. You name it. Except the screenplay!

Overall:
Recommended only for film buffs - if you are the kind interested in trivia of the films you love.
Had expected much more out of it.

[Amit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells you the story of how GOW happened. A glimpse into the art of film making and the amount of hard gruelling team work it entails. I became a fan of Anurag Kashyap movies after "The Black Friday". The year 2012 was special for many reasons but one of the major reason was GOW also.GOW is all about the Swag, the slangs and the Bakaiti. I still don't remember how many times I have seen this movie. But this book, will make you fall in love with "Gangs of Wasseypur" once again. The spontaneity and originality of AK makes this movie a cult. In the hind sight, this movie was a watershed movie which catapulted many deserving actors/stars into the limelight. The book is must read for GOW fan club members.

[Raghav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jigna Kothari and Supriya Madangari give us a book that is well structured, simple yet intelligently written, and most importantly intensely researched. What they give the reader is an inside look at the madness that goes behind making a film. Talking to people involved in Gangs of Wasseypur I and II, in some way or another, they explore the origins of the idea and follow it through its birth as a script, the teething troubles of changing producers during infancy, the problematic time when the film develops, slowly and “organically”, and begins to take control of its own, to finally the time it announces its arrival with élan.

Detailed review - http://tickertalksfilm.blogspot.in/20...

[Mukesh Kumar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too brief. And too indulgent. No real revelation at all. None.
Need a totally different book to do justice to the epic-like movie. Disappointing start to the year :/

[Athul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun time pass.

[Readerbug]

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