Anurag Kashyap: The dark horse of Bollywood

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap’s film mantra is driven by his urge to show real things on the reel.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is the lens through which the soft underbelly of society can be seen. While many prefer films to be an avenue of escape from daily monstrosities, Kashyap’s films, such as Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and Black Friday (2004), provide insight into realities that are often dispelled as ‘overtly controversial’. With a unique ability to project dark themes, Kashyap is soon to release his film titled Ugly.

Kashyap’s thematically dark films are driven by his urge to show “real” things on the reel. “I think there’s a certain honesty and truth in dark themes. Everything else is a camouflage, just like a cake is decorated with icing,” he said.

A psychological thriller, Ugly had its Asia premiere at the recently-concluded third edition of the Ladakh International Film Festival (LIFF) in the Jammu and Kashmir region and was well received. He put the film together after coming across multiple true-life stories during his research. The film, which was screened at the Cannes International Film Festival earlier this year, is set for a September 19 release.

Ugly is set for a September 19 release.

Meanwhile, Kashyap’s ambitious television project, Yudh, which is megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s first fiction show for the small screen, is ready to go on air. He shared that there are many factors about the show that excite him. “The idea that Mr Bachchan will be doing [fiction on] television, and that he is redefining things and taking chances, [despite being an actor] in his 70s, is amazing,” he commented.

Kashyap is thrilled to be the creative director of the show, which is slated to go on air on Sony Entertainment Television in July. The Kashyap-Big B partnership doesn’t end here. Bachchan will soon be seen in a cameo appearance in Ghoomketu, with Kashyap as his co-star and co-producer of the film.

There is ALSO another film in the pipeline, for which Kashyap and Amitabh have joined hands. Of that, the filmmaker said, “It’s still in its writing phase. Mr Bachchan has become very busy right now.” His upcoming neo noir film, Bombay Velvet, which stars Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma, has entered the editing stage.



Instrumental in introducing a new style of content, presentation and genres to Indian cinema, Kashyap is sure that he will “continue making films” he wants to. He feels that he and his partners in Phantom Films, Vikramaditya Motwane and Vikas Bahl, have been offering a “balanced” dose of entertainment to moviegoers. “I make Ugly, Vikas makes Queen and Vikram makes Lootera.

Kashyap filed a petition against using an anti-smoking disclaimer, ‘Smoking is injurious to health’, for his film Ugly, as he felt it impeded his creative expression. Although he lost the case, he hasn’t given up. “We have to continue fighting it. At least, I will continue the fight in the hope that someday, someone will understand that if I don’t want an anti-smoking logo running on my movie, it doesn’t mean I am encouraging smoking,” he said.

Kashyap clarified that running a disclaimer is not a bad idea, but the format currently in use is questionable. “People need to see that. It is fine to put an [anti-smoking] advertisement before and after the film, but [during the] film, it’s not just distracting... it’s insulting,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2014.

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