‘Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor are India’s finest actors,’ says Anurag Kashyap, but he won’t work with Animal star again

Anurag Kashyap spoke about Ranbir Kapoor's recent success, Animal, and explained why it wouldn't be the best idea for him to collaborate with the star again.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: December 8, 2023 11:10 AM IST

Anurag Kashyap speaks about Animal and Kabir Singh. (Photo: Anurag/Instagram)

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap declared that Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor, both of whom he has worked with in the past, are the country’s best actors. In an interview, Anurag looked back on his collaboration with Ranbir on the critical and commercial disappointment Bombay Velvet, and explained why it wouldn’t be a good idea to work with a major star again.

Ranbir’s career has attained new heights since Bombay Velvet, thanks to blockbusters such as Sanju, and more recently, Animal. Directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, Animal has made nearly Rs 550 crore worldwide in about a week of release, and is expected to set new box office records for Hindi cinema. Anurag told Pinkvilla that his commercial sensibilities aren’t that strong. “Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are the finest actors. And they’re a couple. Imagine the amount of talent in one house. If (Animal) is successful for him, it’s good for him,” he said.

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Asked if he would like to work with Ranbir again, Anurag explained, “Who wouldn’t want to work with him? It has taken me quite a long time to understand this, but I don’t have a formula to make blockbusters. And when stars experiment, they get abused and I get abused. When an actor becomes a star, he gets fans. The word ‘fan’ comes from ‘fanatic’. You have fan clubs fighting invisible wars with each other every day. When you work with a star, you have to cater to these fans. Some filmmakers have this skill-set. I don’t.”

In a recent interview with News18, Anurag spoke about the criticism that Animal has been attracting for its depiction of toxic masculinity, and said that even though he hasn’t watched the film, he defends director Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s freedom to make whatever he wants to. Released in 2015, Bombay Velvet was made on a reported budget of Rs 130 crore, but made less than Rs 40 crore at the box office. The period gangster drama also starred Anushka Sharma and Karan Johar, and opened to poor reviews. Anurag has often said that he let the budget get the better of him, and didn’t put his foot down regarding certain creative decisions. Karan has often joked that the movie killed his acting career.

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