Anurag Kashyap says Netflix is charging a premium to watch CID, Kapil Sharma’s show: ‘It now wants to be massy’

He argued that Netflix lost its distinct voice — the bold, uncompromised storytelling that initially made it special. “People came to Netflix because they found something new, fresh, and brave — something they couldn’t find elsewhere. But now, it wants to be massy and compete with Hotstar and MX Player. Why would anyone pay to watch the same content?”

Anurag’s fallout with Netflix traces back to his dream project, Maximum City, based on Suketu Mehta’s 2004 book Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. Despite months of work, Netflix never officially greenlit the project — nor did they reject it outright. “They ghosted me,” Anurag told The Juggernaut. “It was one and a half years of emotional investment, and they didn’t even have the courage to tell me no.”

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Following the success of Netflix’s British series Adolescence, Anurag even called the Indian arm of the company “dishonest and morally corrupt.” “They would never allow something like this in India,” he added.

Netflix’s Chief Content Officer, Bela Bajaria, later responded to his criticism in The Hollywood Reporter India, calling Anurag “very talented” but disagreeing with his claims. “We are trying to entertain the world,” she said, “not just a small group with one definition of what’s good or premium.”

Anurag Kashyap and Netflix had last collaborated for the iconic project, The Sacred Games. The show, however, was cancelled after two seasons. This too had created an issue between the filmmaker and the OTT platform.