Gangs of Wasseypur

Introduction by director Anurag Kashyap at 6:15pm show on January 16 and Q&A at 5:15pm show on January 17

Dubbed “the godfather of modern Indian independent cinema,” director Anurag Kashyap (who also co-wrote and produced) offers his own Godfather of sorts, a five-plus-hour crime saga spanning seven decades of warfare between rival mafia clans in the titular coal town. Manoj Bajpayee (of the Kashyap-scripted gangster epic Satya) throws himself into the role of Sardar Khan, the revenge-driven patriarch wronged by Ramadhir Singh (Tigmanshu Dhulia, the renowned director in a rare acting role), a mine owner turned corrupt politician. Shot with the flair of Tarantino and the scope of Scorsese, the enthralling Gangs of Wasseypur doubles as a chronicle of social and historical tides in 20th-century India. Called “a sprawling, giddy, hyperviolent ride” by Sight & Sound, Kashyap’s opus features plenty of sly humor, including Dhulia’s hilarious anti-Bollywood tirades. A Cinelicious Pics release.

“A dizzying explosion of an Indian gangster film, whose epic structure and colorful, immoral killers capture the imagination for over five hours.”—Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter

“Belongs alongside the great crime sagas of the cinema: The Godfather Trilogy, City of God, Bertolucci's 1900, Heimat and Election.”—Kurt Halfyard, Twitchfilm

“A brilliant collage of genres, by turns pulverizing and poetic.”—Maggie Lee, Variety