‘Ram Gopal Varma had 5 films in the making, could only make 2, asked others to make 3’: Anurag Kashyap doesn’t want to make the same mistakes as his mentor

Anurag Kashyap shared that Ram Gopal Varma would micromanage the films he was producing, and he doesn't want to do that to his directors.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | March 29, 2025 06:15 PM IST

3 min read

Anurag Kashyap spoke about his learning from Ram Gopal Varma in Satya.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap started his career as an assistant director to filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, and spent many years on his films before he ventured out on his own. In a recent interaction, Anurag shared that he learnt a lot from RGV but apart from what he should do, he also learnt what he shouldn’t be doing while making movies. He said that he wouldn’t call himself a producer, but in fact, an “enabler” who facilitates opportunities for others. He claimed that he does not like to interfere when directors are making their films under his production banner.

Speaking at an event at Annapurna College of Film and Media, Anurag shared, “I am not a producer. I am an enabler. If I like the filmmaker, if I like an idea, I say, ‘Use me to make your film’. I don’t know how to produce. I have never been on the set of a single film I have produced. From Udaan onwards till now, I refuse to go on the set.”

Anurag explained that he doesn’t visit the set because he does not like to interfere in the director’s process, and since he is a director himself, it’s hard for him to hold back. “Because the director in you doesn’t die. You don’t want to interfere. Then, what happens is, you are killing their voice. You can’t stop being a filmmaker,” he said, and added that he watched RGV making the same mistake at his production house. “I don’t want to make the same mistakes that Ramu ji did. He had five films at the same time, he could make two. He would ask others to make three, and he would micromanage them. I have seen that and I don’t want to do that,” he said.

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RGV and Anurag had some friction between them for a few years after Satya, but they seem to have made up now. Anurag called RGV his “mentor,” and shared, “He has been so generous as a mentor to me. He has given me all access but I have also learnt what not to do from him. It’s very important to learn that. And I think that you will learn more what not to do from people than what to do.”

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