‘Not in touch with Vicky Kaushal, didn’t like Chhaava’: Anurag Kashyap says ‘money-minded people’ pushed him out of Bollywood

In an interview with The Lallantop, Anurag said that he watched portions of Chhaava, especially the climactic torture sequence, just for his friend Vineet Kumar Singh, who played a supporting role in the film. When asked if he admired Vicky’s performance in the lead role, Anurag said, “I don’t have much interaction with him much these days. I don’t judge him, because every person has their own reasons… I don’t repeat myself. What I wanted to say, I said.”

Anurag continued, “This is why I left Mumbai. Every person has their own ambitions, and it is up to them on how they choose to achieve them. It’s not my responsibility. It took me a while to detach myself. But the atmosphere in Bollywood has become more money-minded. People are looking at ‘crores’ in their decision-making. This is what I ran away from. I don’t want to return to that world.”

Also read – Anurag Kashyap ‘got a message’ from people behind major Bollywood hit, was told to keep his ‘genuine praise’ for the film to himself: ‘My jaw dropped’

Speaking about the film in more detail, Anurag said, “More than Chhaava, it felt like The Passion of the Christ. Mujhe nahi jami (I didn’t like it). The emotion that was being created out of discomfort, I don’t appreciate. I basically watched it for Vineet. I don’t want to judge. I didn’t understand the filmmaker’s storytelling choices, but others did. That’s why I’m not a part of the mainstream; I’m a more romantic sort of person.” Anurag agreed with the film being described as ‘exploitative’, and said that he wasn’t able to sit through it. “I’ve stopped watching Hindi films anyway. I watched Dhadak 2, Laapataa Ladies, and Chamkila, that’s it.

Anurag hasn’t criticised Chhaava before, but the film’s director has criticised him. Laxman Utekar spoke about Anurag’s decision to leave Mumbai, and said in an interview with Mama’s Couch, “Chale jao chod kar, beshak chale jao, koi zabadasti nahi kar raha hai,” he said. “See, ye industry aisi hai ki you have to be mentally and creatively happy, then only we can make a great… agar aapka mann nahi hai yahan rehne ka toh aap great film kaise banaoge? Aap chale jao, isse acha (Leave if you want to, nobody is forcing you to stay. You can only make movies if you are creatively happy, and there’s no point in forcing yourself if you can’t put your heart in it).”

He continued, “Woh galat bol rahe hai jab woh kehte hai ki audience ko sensibilities nahi hai unki film accept karne ki… balki unki sensibility nahi hai audience ka taste accept karne ki,” he said. “Aaj 700-800 crore tak business kar rahi hai films… how can you say cinema is dying? Aap collection toh dekho Baahubali ka, RRR ka, Pushpa ka—1200 crore tak ka collection tha. Ya phir in fact Chhaava ka. Sensibility aapki change honi chahiye kyunki aap wahin par aatke huye ho (How can you say cinema is dying when movies are doing business of over Rs 1000 crore? You should change your sensibilities instead of telling the audience to change themselves).” Speaking about Anurag indirectly, Utekar concluded, “There are some filmmakers who think they’ve attained nirvana and can share their wisdom with everyone else. If you think the audience didn’t understand your film, why did you make it? You shouldn’t have made it. Go write a book or something. But if you’ve made a film, the audience comes first.”

In an interview with The Hindu, Anurag said earlier this year, “I’ve left Mumbai. I want to stay away from film people. The industry has become too toxic. Everyone is chasing unrealistic targets, trying to make the next Rs 500 or Rs 800 crore film. The creative atmosphere is gone.” The filmmaker’s latest release, Nishaanchi, debuted theatrically on Friday.