I don’t see myself as fearless, just honest to my filmmaking: Anurag Kashyap
NEW DELHI: Making movies or lifestyle? Most filmmakers, says Anurag Kashyap, want the latter but not him. He wants to continue making films that are as fearless and courageous as he is himself.
Known for voicing opinions that others might hesitate to, the Gangs of Wasseypur director doesn’t see himself as brave. Just truthful.making movies,” Kashyap told PTI in an interview.
“People call me fearless because the public is afraid. People call me courageous because they lack courage. Why should you need to be courageous to speak honestly? I’m just honest to myself,” added the 53-year-old.
His filmography includes Satya, which he wrote, as well as Black Friday, Dev D and Mukkabaz.for his unabashed take on issues like casteism and censorship.
There is something that scares him though. Any backlash that impacts his loved ones, collaborators, and actors.
“My loved ones, when they get affected by anything, it affects me. My people are my team, my actors, everyone. I care about them. I care about cinema.
“I talk so much about what’s wrong with cinema, not because I’m complaining, it’s because I’m warning them. I’ve seen that happen. I’ve been here so long. I’ve seen people come and go and I’ve seen people make the same mistakes. I keep warning them and they don’t like it.”Kashyap then travelled to Toronto, where his upcoming directorial Bandar had its world premiere.
He also served as the presenter for the recently released Manoj Bajpayee-starrer Jugnuma: The Fable. And is now back in India promoting Nishaanchi that releases in theatres this Friday.
How does he do what does? “I don’t do it alone. It’s like a whole set of people. Plus, I have an incredible producer in Ranjan Singh who was in Venice with me. He’s the one who does the hard work. He’s the pillar, the wall behind me. And he’s the one who did all that groundwork for Jugnuma.”Instead of making a film, earlier filmmakers would make films that they wanted to make. And want to do their best to make it into a film that reaches out. That communicates what they want to communicate. But suddenly, the world has changed. It became about formulas and algorithms and everything else. And I didn’t want to get into that muck. So I wanted to step away from it.”It stars debutant Aaishvary Thackray in a double role along with Vedika Pinto, Monika Panwar, Kumud Mishra, and Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub.
The filmmaker said he wrote the script in 2016 but decided to wait for the right time to make it.
“It has been there somewhere inside me for a very long time. And 2016 is when we wrote it. While we were working on Mukkabaaz is when Nishaanchi was also written. And we wanted to make it with the right people, right cast, right backing and somebody who believed in it as much as we did,” he said.
That’s why, he said, he shifted base to ‘the South’.
Where exactly is still a mystery because he has been reluctant to speak about it. He said he believes it is not necessary for a filmmaker to live in Bombay to make a film.
And now comes his latest offering Nishaanchi, a crime drama that marks his return to his Hindi heartland roots.
The ever outspoken Kashyap also makes headlines every
“I don’t see myself as fearless. I’m very honest about my filmmaking. And I think filmmakers should be honest to their filmmaking. In a sense, it’s a choice you have to make. Do you want to make movies or do you want a lifestyle? Most people want fame and lifestyle. I want to keep