Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap faces case over caste-based remark

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is facing legal trouble after a complaint was filed against him over a remark perceived as derogatory towards the Brahmin community.

The controversy comes just days before the release of Phule, a film he has vocally supported, which has also drawn backlash from some caste-based groups.

The complaint was lodged by Ashutosh J. Dubey, an advocate and head of BJP Maharashtra’s Social Media Legal and Advisory Department. In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), Dubey alleged that Kashyap’s comment amounted to hate speech and demanded an FIR be registered by the Mumbai Police.

“I have officially submitted a complaint to @MumbaiPolice seeking registration of an FIR against @anuragkashyap72 for his derogatory and casteist remark against the Brahmin community,” he wrote. “Such hate speech cannot be tolerated in a civil society. The law must take its course.”

The row erupted after Kashyap responded to a user on X who had commented: “Brahmins tumhare baap hain. Jitna tumhari unse sulgegi utna tumhari sulgaayenge.” (Brahmins are your fathers. The more you mess with them, the more they will burn you.)

To this, Kashyap replied: “Brahmin pe main mootoonga… koi problem?” (I will urinate on Brahmins… any problem?)

The comment quickly drew backlash, prompting outrage from political leaders and members of the Brahmin community. Union Minister Satish Chandra Dubey called Kashyap a “vile scumbag” and vowed to ensure he apologised publicly.

“This vile scumbag thinks he can spit filth on the entire Brahmin community and get away with it? Enough of this gutter mouth’s hate, we won’t stay silent,” the minister said.

In response to the backlash, Kashyap issued a statement on Instagram, acknowledging the controversy and claiming that his daughter, family, and friends had received rape and death threats.

“This is my apology – not for my post, but for that one line taken out of context and the brewing hatred,” he wrote. “No action or speech is worth your daughter, family, friends, and colleagues getting rape and death threats from the kingpins of sanskar.”

Kashyap said he would not retract his original post, but appealed to critics to spare his family. “Abuse me all you want. My family didn’t say anything. If you want an apology, here it is. Brahmins, spare the women,” he said.

The controversy comes amid the ongoing debate surrounding Phule, a biographical film directed by Ananth Mahadevan and featuring Pratik Gandhi as social reformer Jyotirao Phule and Patralekhaa as Savitribai Phule. The film portrays the 19th-century reformers’ fight against caste discrimination and gender inequality.

Some Brahmin groups in Maharashtra have objected to the film, claiming it portrays their community in a negative light. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) delayed the film’s clearance, prompting Kashyap to criticise the board and question how interest groups were accessing unreleased content.

He argued that the reaction to the film, which had not yet been screened publicly, was both premature and politically motivated. The film’s release has now been postponed to 25 April following the objections.

While the Mumbai Police has not issued an official statement on the complaint, the issue highlights ongoing tensions between freedom of expression and caste sensitivities in Indian society.

Legal experts say that while harsh or offensive speech can fall under hate speech laws, determining intent and context remains key.

“I won’t take back what I said,” Kashyap reiterated, even as he acknowledged the toll the controversy has taken on those around him.