5 min readMumbaiJun 16, 2026 02:27 PM IST
The last two Fridays saw filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Imtiaz Ali release their movies back-to-back. First came the prison drama Bandar, followed by the Partition-era romance Main Vaapas Aaunga. While both films earned critical acclaim, their box-office performance has been largely underwhelming. Now, Kashyap has spoken about what he sees as a growing problem in the theatrical business, the lack of opportunities for smaller films to find an audience through word of mouth.
‘Nobody has actually seen it in theatres’
Last week, the filmmaker took to Instagram to point out that most prime-time shows had been allotted to the Hollywood blockbuster Obsession, while Hindi films such as Bandar and Main Vaapas Aaunga struggled to secure screens. Elaborating on his concerns in an interview with HT City, he said, “I get angry, upset because people keep coming to me and talking about how they love this film and that film. I often ask them, ‘Where did you see it?’ and nobody has actually seen it in theatres. I’m quite used to it.”
Anurag Kashyap recalled a time when filmmakers and exhibitors were more accommodating. He cited the release of his 2014 film Ugly, which arrived in theatres alongside Rajkumar Hirani’s PK. Since Ugly had already released in France and leaked online, the makers had to advance its India release. “I made a call to Siddharth Roy Kapur, Ronnie Screwvala and Raju Hirani, and we released Ugly in finally at least three shows, they made sure that our film got it. That time is gone now. I can understand the theatrical business is business. They want to make money right now, and Obsession is working. But my thing is, Obsession can still survive on less shows. It will still work with five shows, people will still see it. If not today, they will see it tomorrow.”
‘For every Dhurandhar, there will be five expensive films that will bomb’
“Films should get proper shows so that people can watch them, allowing word of mouth to build up. The thing is, theatre owners themselves don’t allow the word of mouth to build up,” he said, adding that audiences are increasingly being conditioned to wait for such films to arrive on streaming platforms instead. “If you are building an audience only for event movies, then only those movies will be made. They are so expensive, and the hit-and-miss ratio is huge. For every Dhurandhar, there will be five expensive films that will bomb. Whereas these films are not so expensive and one needs to build word of mouth.”
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The filmmaker also criticised theatre chains for assigning inconvenient show timings to smaller releases. Recalling his attempt to watch the Nepali-language film Shape of Momo in Bengaluru, Kashyap said the film was playing only twice a day at a cinema located far from his home. “It was like a token release by the cinema,” he said, noting that, “which is why when I booked a ticket for Main Vaapas Aaunga on Saturday, there was only one show. Now it has increased to three shows in the cinema nearby. But it was just one show early in the morning then. We went at 9:40 am to see the film in a cinema. The word of mouth is not allowed to build up. Slowly people give up on it because they’re like, ‘Okay, it’s an inconvenient time and we’ll see it when it comes on OTT.’”
‘Main Vaapas Aaunga should have had more shows’
Speaking about Bandar, Anurag Kashyap pointed out that the film’s late-night shows were performing well, but questioned the logic of screening a heavy prison drama early in the morning. “Bandar’s night shows were full. But who will go and watch it at 9 AM, when it is going to upset you for the rest of the day! There’s human psychology also involved. If I watch my own film, the rest of my day will be ruined. Main Vaapas Aaunga is not like Bandar, it should have had more shows. It’s emotional, soulful, has everything that’s good about commercial films. I can still understand for Bandar.”
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Kashyap also argued that regional film industries often receive stronger support from exhibitors and local audiences. Referring to Maharashtra’s policy mandating theatres to screen Marathi films for at least four weeks a year and provide a prime-time slot, he said regional industries take pride in showcasing their cinema. “Regional films take pride in their cinema and make sure they showcase their local cinema, whether it’s Kannada films in Karnataka, Telugu films in Andhra or Malayalam films in Kerala.”
Bandar and Main Vaapas Aaunga Box Office Collections
As per trade tracker Sacnilk, Bandar, starring Bobby Deol, has grossed over Rs 4.04 crore nett at the box office so far. Meanwhile, Main Vaapas Aaunga, featuring Naseeruddin Shah, Diljit Dosanjh, Sharvari and Vedang Raina, has earned Rs 6.87 crore nett.
Anurag Kashyap says theatres hurt Bandar, Main Vaapas Aaunga's box office prospects.