New Delhi, Jul 9 (IANS): The common string that ties the team of "Masaan" to filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is the critically acclaimed crime drama "Gangs of Wasseypur". Now as "Masaan" is treading towards success, Kashyap says he is proud of the whole cast for making a mark with their first outing.

The film's lead Richa Chadha, Vicky Kaushal and debutant director Neeraj Ghaywan worked on Kashyap's critically acclaimed "Gangs of Wasseypur".

While Ghaywan and Vicky were assistant directors of "Gangs of Wasseypur", Richa was one of the female leads.

"It's good to see my brightest first-timers not wasting any time to go out there and make a brilliant first film. There is a lesson there for all of us. I'm very proud of Neeraj as a director and Vicky as actor," Kashyap said in a statement.

There's more. The lyricist of songs like "Womaniya" and "Kaala rey", the IIT graduate Varun Grover has penned the story of "Masaan" and also written songs in the film, including "Mann kasturi", which is sung by Indian Ocean band.

Besides, other people who worked on both the films are actor Pankaj Tripathi, action director Sham Kaushal, editor Nitin Baid, Karuna Dutt (assistant director) and Shrikant Desai (make-up).

The film, set in Varanasi, takes audiences to the dark side of Indian society through the lives of two women and how their life coincides at some point. There are ghats and scenic locales with the holy Ganga river in the backdrop.

The film won the Promising Future Prize and the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci) Award at the Cannes International Film Festival this year.

Other than the past alliances, Kashyap is related to "Masaan" in one more way. He is co-producing the film with his Phantom Films along with Manish Mundra (Drishyam Films) and Guneet Monga of Sikhya Entertainment.

Though "Masaan" will hit the Indian screens only on June 24, a Cannes-cut version of the movie was screened here when it opened the sixth edition of Jagran Film Festival earlier this month, and elicited a positive response.