A few hours ago, I saw a report by the online news channel The Print. The report says after the release of the Anurag Kashyap cult film ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, the lives of the people living in Wasseypur have changed dramatically.
Now, banks don’t give loans to the people living in Wasseypur. Swiggy, Zomato doesn’t allow cash on delivery (COD) option for the residents of Wasseypur. People living outside Wasseypur are reluctant to get married to someone from Wasseypur.
People of Wasseypur think that this has happened because of the film. This entire thing reminded me of Russian revolutionary Lenin’s view on cinema. Lenin made his oft-quoted statement “that of all the arts the most important for us is the cinema.” He wanted to use film as a propaganda tool for the Soviet masses. And in the case of Gangs of Wasseypur, this thing has exactly happened to the people residing near Wasseypur. The film has hypnotized them.
This is the power of film. A good film can blur the line between reality and fiction. Gangs of Wasseypur are one of them.
At times, I take inspiration from films. My sister told me that she also takes inspiration from films to handle real-life situations. Films are no doubt a tool to reach out to the mass. The question is how to use it. As a tool to educate or to fool.
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