Zeishan Quadri

Early life

Zeishan Quadri was born in Wasseypur, Dhanbad, Bihar (now in Jharkhand) in 1983. He is the only son and the youngest child of Syed Imran Quadri, a civil engineer. Quadri grew up in a strict and protective environment. He has two elder sisters. Quadri was educated in Dhanbad. Quadri left Dhanbad to study for Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Meerut. Quadri worked in a call center and for HCL computers in Delhi for 18 months before coming to Mumbai in 2008.

Film career

2009-2012: Career beginnings and ''Gangs of Wasseypur''

In 2009, Quadri moved to Mumbai to pursue a career in acting. Quadri studied world cinema including film makers such as Majid Majidi, Fateh Akın and Akira Kurosawa. In 2009, he met director Anurag Kashyap and pitched him the story of Wasseypur. Quadri negotiated to write the script and play the character "Definite" in the second part. On May 30, 2009, Quadri's story was sold to Kashyap. Based on real life events in the coal rich city of Dhanbad, it was a story about the "coal mafia" that spans several generations from 1941 to 2010. Gangs of Wasseypur, initially shot as a five hour long film, was released as a duology, with the first part releasing on June 22, 2012, and the second part releasing on August 8, 2012, in the Indian market, after being screened in its entirety at screened at the 2012 Cannes Directors' Fortnight. With an ensemble cast of Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pankaj Tripathi, Richa Chadda, Jaideep Ahlawat, Huma Qureshi, Piyush Mishra and Tigmanshu Dhulia starring in major roles, both films received widespread critical acclaim and were commercially successful at the box office. It has gained a large cult following over the years due to its dark humor, experimental soundtrack, and its raw and realistic filmmaking style not done by any Bollywood film before.

2014: Further successes

He acted in the film Revolver Rani, which was directed by Sai Kabir and starred Kangana Ranaut and Vir Das. In 2014, Quadri acted in the movie Akki, Vikki Te Nikki directed by Vipin Sharma and produced by Bohra Brothers. He was reported to have been working on a script with Madhur Bhandarkar for his then-upcoming movie Madamji starring Priyanka Chopra, but since then, no further developments on the projects have been reported.

In 2015, he was reported to be working on a script Oh Womaniya for Pritish Nandy Communications to be helmed by director Anu Menon, and on the Fardeen Khan starrer Firauti, both of which were eventually shelved. His first film as a director and producer was Meeruthiya Gangsters. The editing of the film was executed by veteran filmmaker Anurag Kashyap who presented the film along with Prateek Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. Quadri visited many cities for the promotion of the film including Aligarh at Aligarh Muslim University. He also acted as the jury member at the university's eighth edition of Filmsaaz.

According to Mumbai Mirror, Anurag Kashyap and Quadri were reported to collaborate on the third installment of the Gangs of Wasseypur franchise, with Kashyap insisting that Quadri writes and directs the film. This claim was eventually debunked by Kashyap in 2024.

Quadri initially planned to produce Sarbjit, and roped in Omung Kumar as the director. The film released in 2016 to mixed reviews.

In 2020, Quadri starred in the non-fiction TV series Bicchoo Ka Khel, which was produced by Ekta Kapoor. He also produced and co-wrote the screenplay for the films Halahal and Chhalaang in the same year.

In 2024, he played a negative lead in the movie Woh Bhi Din The directed by Sajid Ali, produced by John Abraham Entertainment and a deputy CBI officer in Bloody Daddy. In 2025, he participated in the reality TV show Bigg Boss 19 and finished in the 15th place.

Filmography

Films

Television

Web series

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. "Zeishan Quadri: A regular job wasn't my cup of tea". mytheatrecafe.
2. (19 August 2014). "Zeishan dons directorial cap with Meeruthiya gangsters".
3. "Gangs Of Wasseypur makes Zeishan Quadri a rising star". NDTV.
4. (2012-07-01). "Badland boy". Hindustan Times.
5. (15 November 2015). "Shooting star".
6. (August 2017). "Best of Bollywood, South Cinema, TV and Celebs - MSN India".
7. Jyothi Prabhakar. (12 July 2012). "Scriptwriting was just a route to become an actor: Zeishan Quadri".
8. (2012-06-21). ""Gangs of Wasseypur" writer Zeishan imitates Salman". Daily Times.
9. Zeishan Quadri. (2012-06-16). "Zeishan Quadri - Role Play". The Asian Age.
10. "Looking at the REAL Wasseypur".
11. (16 August 2012). "'GOW' writer ready with more real life stories".
12. Kashyap, Anurag. (August 14, 2024). "Anurag Kashyap on Gangs of Wasseypur".
13. (24 April 2012). "Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur selected for Directors' Fortnight at Cannes". DearCinema.com.
14. (24 April 2012). "Gangs of Wasseypur: World premiere at Cannes". IBN Live.
15. Leffler, Rebecca. (24 April 2012). "Cannes 2012: Michel Gondry's 'The We & The I' to Open Director's Fortnight". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
16. "2012 Selection". [[Directors' Fortnight]].
17. (July 9, 2023). "'You can never tell a film will become a cult while filming it". dtnext.in.
18. Sweta Kaushal. (9 February 2013). "Zeishan Quadri: why does he love crime?". Hindustan Times.
19. (19 August 2013). "Zeishan Quadri turns villain for Banana - NDTV Movies".
20. (5 July 2013). "Will play my first intense role in Revolver Rani: Vir Das".
21. "Zeishan Quadri".
22. "Akki, Vikki te Nikki". IMDb.
23. "Priyanka Chopra's MADAMJI to be scripted by Zeishan Quadri". Glamsham.
24. (27 December 2014). "Gangs of Wasseypur writer Zeishan Quadri scripts for Priyanka Chopra and Madhur Bhandarkar's Madamji". BollySpice.
25. (15 June 2013). "I keep writing scripts in my mind: Zeishan Quadri". TheTimesOfIndia.
26. Singh, Shillpi. (April 23, 2016). "Zeishan Quadri: Making the Write Choices".
27. [http://punjabnewsexpress.com/news/42080-first-look-of-meeruthiya-gangsters-unveiled.aspx] {{dead link. (August 2017)
28. (30 July 2015). "IndiaGlitz - Anurag Kashyap is all for Zeishan Quadris Meeruthiya Gangsters".
29. "Acclaimed film personalites attended AMU's eighth Annual International Film Festival".
30. (8 September 2015). "ANURAG KASHYAP GOES BACK TO WASSEYPUR".
31. Rawal, Sugandha. (August 13, 2024). "Is Gangs of Wasseypur 3 in the making? Anurag Kashyap breaks silence".
32. (11 May 2015). "Omung Kumar directed 'Mary Kom' beautifully: Zeishan Quadri".
33. Kumar, Omung. (2016-05-20). "Sarabjit".
34. (4 October 2015). "Zeishan Quadri and Ekta Kapoor Collab on a new Non-fiction TV Series!".
35. Parasuraman, Prathyush. (November 19, 2020). "Bicchoo Ka Khel Review".
36. (19 August 2013). "Zeishan Quadri turns villain for 'Banana'". BusinessStandard.
37. (29 March 2024). "Woh Bhi Din The Movie Review: Rohit Saraf, Adarsh Gourav's Delayed Coming-Of-Age Saga Is Nostalgic But Indulgent". [[Times Now]].
38. Tiwari, Vijaya. (October 14, 2025). "Exclusive – Bigg Boss 19: Zeishan Quadri opens up after eviction; calls Amaal Mallik dogla, labels Kunickaa Sadanand toxic and bond with Tanya Mittal".
39. Farzeen, Sana. (October 16, 2025). "Zeishan Quadri on Tanya Mittal's alleged lies on Bigg Boss 19: Who am I to judge?".
40. "ZEE5 Premieres Horror-Comedy 'Bhoot Purva'".
41. (30 May 2023). "Zeishan Quadri says his role in Bloody Daddy satisfies the actor in him".
42. "Bicchoo ka Khel: Mirzapur ke Munna Bhaiya ka Banarasi version - Dekhiye Trailer".
43. Saibal Chatterjee. (19 November 2021). "Your Honor 2 Review: Jimmy Sheirgill Leads Web-Series That's Easy To Recommend".
44. "Zeeshan Quadri Awards".