Mumbai, May 18 : Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, whose
" Gangs Of Wasseypur" will be premiered at the ongoing 65th Cannes
International Film Festival, says he is still unsure what convinced
Manoj Bajpayee to say yes for the film. "This film is based in
North India and required actors who understood the language and the
region. I have worked a lot with Manoj and his name cropped up in my
mind first. I was sure that only Manoj can essay this role of Sardar
Khan but we had not talked to each other for a long time," the
39-year-old said here Thursday at a promotional event of the film about
the coal mine in Jharkhan. "So, I took the lead and called him
and said that I have a script. He immediately came at 11:30 in the
night. He asked for red wine, finished the entire bottle, heard the
script and gave his nod. I still don't know whether it was the script or
the bottle that made him say yes," he added. "Gangs of
Wasseypur" talks about the coal mafia in Jharkhand. The
five-hour-and-20-minute long film has been divided into two parts and
both of them will be premiered at the Cannes film festival that began
May 16. Kashyap admits it is his most expensive film so far. "My
biggest budget film so far was 'Dev D' which was Rs.6 crore. Compared to
that, this is my biggest film. But my big budget is still very small
compared to other people. But yes, we have spent money," said Kashyap. The first part of the "Gangs of Wasseypur" will hit screens June 22 here. © IANS |