Quadri wrote Gangs of Wasseypur, which is inspired by the goings-on at his own hometown, Wasseypur in Dhanbad, where he was born and grew up. It focuses on the coal mafia and the power struggle within

Quadri says he has never hoped to bring about change through movies. The writer, who grew up in Wasseypur, and worked at a call centre in Delhi for a few years, moved to Mumbai in 2009, to become an actor. His acting career may not have taken off, but he wrote the landmark movies, Gangs of Wasseypur 1 and 2, which focused on the coal mafia, with director Anurag Kashyap. The films gave rise to a genre untapped until then—the hinterland crime thriller. India watched the movies and asked, does this really happen? "It's the situation shown in Halahal as well. Good people become corrupt, and mostly it is the circumstances that are to blame. Some very powerful forces are at work here. It's the stark reality, and one that nobody wants to admit. If you admit it's reality, then you have to change, right? But if you deny, then life moves on as it has."

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He says his inspiration is the society around him—what he sees on TV or what comes up in conversations with people. But he is very clear that he doesn't aim, or hope, to change society. "I am only here to offer entertainment. I don't expect people to change their behaviour after watching my movies. Two months after Wasseypur was released, a man was gunned down in the middle of the road in my mohalla. Post that, many murders have happened there. The power struggle I discuss involves a lot of money, and that matters the most. If people haven't learnt right and wrong from their parents, how will they learn it from me?"

Barun Sobti plays the lead in Halahal on Eros Now, inspired by the 2013 Vyapam Scam

Quadri is currently awaiting the release of Hansal Mehta's Chahalng, and also working on the direction he wants GOW3 to take. "We are wondering if we should continue the story or start afresh. It's all in the air right now. But soon, we will crack it!"

We wish him luck for that and can't help but ask, if Wasseypur is so crime-ridden, doesn't he worry for his parents who live there?

"Everyone in Wasseypur knows who I am—Zeishan Quadri—much before the movies released. No one dare do anything," he laughs.

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