The filmmaker opens up about why indie films are struggling despite multiple releases and what has changed since the early 2000s.
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Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap believes independent cinema in India is going through a difficult phase. Even though five indie films released in September 2025, he feels the larger picture is not encouraging.
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The films, Homebound, Sabar Bonda, Jugnama, Bad Girl and Humans in the Loop, made it to theatres around the same time.
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On paper, it looked like a strong moment for independent storytelling. But according to Kashyap, the reality is very different.
“Independent cinema has no option in India,” he said during a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India.
Kashyap pointed out something that troubled him the most, the lack of support among filmmakers themselves. “Each of the five filmmakers did not talk about the other four. In our time, it was not like that,” he said.
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Coming from the late 1990s and early 2000s wave of directors, Kashyap remembers a time when indie filmmakers promoted and backed each other.
There were no big studios or massive marketing budgets. What helped films survive was word of mouth and a strong sense of community.
For Kashyap, cinema has always been about shared passion. “It’s a very simple thing: I love cinema, I love people who love cinema,” he said, adding that he has always supported fellow filmmakers both publicly and privately.
He feels that the open conversations, debates and creative bonding that once defined the indie movement are slowly disappearing.
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The release of five independent films in the same month could have created a larger cultural moment. It could have sparked conversations around alternative storytelling in India.
Instead, Kashyap believes each film functioned in isolation, without building place for the larger indie space.
For him, the issue is not just about box office numbers, it is about losing a spirit that once kept independent cinema alive.
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