Anurag Kashyap to move south, criticises Bollywood’s focus on profit and stardom

Anurag Kashyap says his decision to leave Mumbai stems from disillusionment with Hindi cinema.

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Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has announced plans to leave Mumbai and relocate to South India, citing growing frustration with the current state of the Hindi film industry.

In a revealing interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Kashyap opened up about his disillusionment with Bollywood, criticising the industry for prioritising profits and star culture over creativity and artistic integrity.

He described how these shifts in the industry have made it increasingly difficult to create the kind of films he is passionate about.

Kashyap, whose past works like Gangs of Wasseypur and Dev D are hailed for their bold, experimental storytelling, expressed his discontent with how the industry now operates.

He lamented that filmmaking has become more about managing profit margins than nurturing creativity. “The joy of filmmaking is sucked out,” he said, adding that financial pressures have made it harder for him to experiment with new ideas.

The director pointed out that five of his films remain unreleased, including Kennedy, which was showcased at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.

He attributed the delay in releasing these films to studio decisions focused on financial viability rather than artistic merit.

He also explained that the growing dominance of big-budget blockbusters and remakes in Bollywood has left little room for filmmakers to take creative risks.

“The industry has become obsessed with making money. They have no interest in experimenting with new ideas,” Kashyap said. “Everything is about how to sell the project, how to make it a success at the box office, and not about the art of filmmaking.”

Kashyap contrasted this environment with his growing admiration for Malayalam cinema, which he sees as a bastion of creativity and freedom. He recently had a positive experience at the International Film Festival of Kerala, where he was struck by the camaraderie and collaborative spirit among filmmakers.

“They take influences from around the world but localise them into something uniquely their own,” Kashyap said, citing films like Manjummel Boys as an example of this approach.

He highlighted that Malayalam filmmakers are able to make bold, original films without the pressures of commercial success that define Bollywood.

“Malayalam filmmakers are doing what we used to do. I envy them,” he added. Kashyap noted that the freedom to create without worrying about the marketability of the final product was a significant draw for him to the South Indian film industry.

This growing frustration has led Kashyap to announce that he plans to leave Mumbai and establish his base in South India next year. “If I stay in Mumbai, I feel I’ll die an old man, still trying to do the same things. I’m moving because I need an environment where creativity can thrive,” he said.

Kashyap also took the opportunity to criticise Bollywood’s preoccupation with star culture. He explained how actors today are more concerned with cultivating their public image than developing their craft.

“There’s a huge difference between being a star and being an actor. Many actors in Bollywood today are more interested in being stars, in looking good and having a social media following, than actually learning their craft,” Kashyap said.

He further accused the agencies that promote these actors of profiting from their glamour, sending them to the gym rather than to acting workshops.

The director, who has long been a champion of independent and unconventional filmmaking, also expressed his frustration with how some former actor friends had distanced themselves from him, citing a growing sense of entitlement within the industry.

“It’s a trend in Bollywood, this behaviour of ‘ghosting’ people once they’ve made it. I didn’t face that in Malayalam cinema,” he said.

Despite these frustrations, Kashyap remains determined to continue making films. “I was going to quit filmmaking at one point because of all the negativity around me, but now I’ve realised it doesn’t affect me anymore. I just want to keep making films,” he concluded.