I hate 'Gangs of Wasseypur': Anurag Kashyap opens up about the 'bane of his life'

Anurag Kashyap, the celebrated poster boy of independent Indian cinema, recently attended the Cannes premiere of his latest film Kennedy, which captivated the audience and garnered an eight-minute standing ovation at the prestigious event. While basking in the success of his latest work, Kashyap candidly expressed his dislike for his previous film, Gangs of Wasseypur, which has garnered immense adoration from audiences.

During an interview with Brut India, he spoke about one of his most popular and beloved projects being the 'bane of his life.' Addressing Gangs of Wasseypur, Kashyap revealed his discontent with the film, stating, "Gangs of Wasseypur is the bane of my life. I hate Gangs of Wasseypur because everybody expects me to keep making the same kind of films, which I'm never going to do again in my life. I want to make different kinds of films."

He explained that his desire to create diverse films led to the inception of projects such as Black Friday, Dev D, and even Gangs of Wasseypur itself. Talking about moving on, the director stated, "Gangs of Wasseypur is always available on Netflix. I want to move forward and make more cinema, like Kennedy, which is more personal."

Kennedy features Sunny Leone, Rahul Bhat, and Abhilash Thapliyal. Kashyap shared insights into his decision to cast Leone for the film, highlighting her ability to portray complex emotions and experiences.

"I swear I have never seen her films, ever," said Kashyap in an interview with Film Companion. "I have seen her interviews. There is a certain sadness in her eyes. There has been a life in the past. I needed a woman over 40, who is sexualized by men around her, men who are in their 50s and 60s. I don't need to see the act of sex and all that. I need to see this woman who is also dealing with it, also handling it, also using it all in order to survive and navigate. In Sunny, I found a woman who came with all those things inbuilt."

Kashyap also humorously referred to his previous film Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat while discussing the overwhelming experience of screening Kennedy at the Grand Theatre Lumiere in the midnight screening section. Talking about the same, he shared, "It was really overwhelming, it's my first film at Theatre Lumiere with 2,500 people appreciating the film. The numbers were more than the entire audience that saw my last film Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat. I broke that entire record in one screening."

Have something to add? Share it in the comments below