Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap's epic gangster saga starring Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chaddha, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Pankaj Tripathi and Huma Qureshi had its premiere at the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival (2012). Made on a restrained budget of Rs 18 crores approximately, the two-part film was critically acclaimed for being rooted in reality. The story of Gangs of Wasseypur has been penned by Zeishan Quadri.
Inspired by true events, the film revolves around the evolution of the powerful and dangerous coal mafia in Dhanbad and Wasseypur over three decades. Manoj Bajpayee plays Sardar Khan, the vindictive orphan. Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia is Ramadhir Singh, the mob boss-turned-politician and Pankaj Tripathi plays Sultan Qureshi. In an interview with The Guardian, Kashyap said, "Everything you see in the film is true, though it did not happen necessarily in the same order to the same people." Kashyap is a zoology graduate from Varanasi, which is a few hours away from Wasseypur.
Shot as a single film with a run time of 5 hours and 20 minutes, Kashyap decided to release the film in two parts since no theatres would agree to release a film that long. Gangs Of Wasseypur I released in June 2012 while Part II released in August. The two parts combined won Best Audiography, Re-recordist's of the Final Mixed Track and Special Mention for acting (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) at the National Film Awards as well as four Filmfare Awards, including Best Film (Critics) and Best Actress (Critics) in 2013. The soundtrack by music composers Sneha Khanwalkar and Piyush Mishra was lauded as flavourful, authentic yet quirky with major influences from traditional folk songs.