Anurag Kashyap is done with Bollywood! The filmmaker has never shied away from voicing his opinions freely. Recently, the ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ maker expressed his disgust and disappointment with the Hindi film industry. He lashed out at the escalating salaries and shift in focus from filmmaking to money-making. Kashyap also criticised new-age actors and agencies for favouring being a star over a better actor. Stating that Bollywood has ‘sucked out the joy of filmmaking,’ the filmmaker is moving to the South.
In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Anurag Kashyap got real about his views. “Now it is difficult for me to go out and experiment as it comes at a cost, which makes my producers think about profit and margins. Right from the beginning, before the film starts, it becomes about how to sell it. So, the joy of filmmaking is sucked out. That’s why I want to move out of Mumbai next year. I am going to the South. I want to go where there is stimulation. Otherwise, I will die as an old man. I am so disappointed and disgusted by my own industry. I am disgusted by the mindset.”
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Kashyap also highlighted that Bollywood relies on remakes after a film becomes successful. Citing the example of ‘Manjumel Boys,’ he stated that Bollywood would never make a film like that. However, if the title becomes successful, they would like to remake it in Hindi. “The mindset is to remake what’s already worked. They won’t try anything new.”
Moving ahead, the filmmaker also criticised agencies for pushing budding talent into going after stardom rather than the craft. “The first-generation actors and the really entitled ones are very painful to deal with. Nobody wants to act—they all want to be stars. The agency won’t make anybody a star, but the moment someone becomes a star, the agency makes money off them. The onus of finding talent is on you—you have to take a risk and firefight with 50 people. And when the film is made, the agency grabs them and turns them into a star. They will brainwash them and tell them what they need to do to become a star. They won’t send them to workshops but to the gym—it’s all glam-glam because they have to be massive stars.”
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He revealed that an actor disappeared following an agency’s advice. However, he returned later for career counselling. “This is what the agency does—they just make money off you. They aren’t invested in building new careers.” Praising Southern cinema, he said, “My actors, whom I thought of as friends, ghost you because they want to be a certain way. That happens mostly here; it doesn’t happen in Malayalam cinema.”
Anurag Kashyap recently made his Malayalam debut alongside rapper Hanumankind in ‘Rifle Club.’
