Anurag Basu‘Gangster’ remains one of his most beloved films. This romantic crime thriller has gained a cult following. For the 20th anniversary, the director shared his memories of the casting Kangana Ranaut opposite Emraan Hashmi.
Casting Kangana Ranaut
In his Variety India interview, Anurag explained how he selected Kangana, saying, “I had an image of the girl in my mind, which was very similar to Kangana, and I was lucky to find her. I was struggling because I was meeting many girls and consulting with many actors. But at that time there was no one like Kangana. So I had a very clear image of a girl (Sofrom aha’s mountain). The first time I met her, I didn’t immediately tell her that she was voted in, directors are always greedy. because they are““So I auditioned her and said, ‘You wait for five to six days. I’ll get back to you’. I was still looking for a new girl for another five or six days. I couldn’t find anyone better than Kangana. I confirmed for the film,” he continued.
Gangster shooting battles
Basu reflected on the hardest part of shooting abroad, “When I created the film, I wanted to go very fast on the ground. Everyone was stopping me because I was undergoing chemotherapy at the time. They wanted me to start shooting after I recovered. But the only way to cope with the chemo and everything was to start in desperation. With a very small unit there we couldn’t afford many people. We prepared our lunch. Kangana used to chop the onion, and I used to cook the dal. Everyone ate and then went to film.”
Main credits of Gangster
Directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Mahesh Bhatt, ‘Gangster’ also features Shiney Ahuja. It weaves an intricate love triangle between themes of crime and betrayal.
