DirectorAnurag Kashyap bids adieu to Bollywood
The director of “Gangs of Wasseypur” decides to bid adieu to Bollywood, the ‘Mecca’ of Hindi films in Mumbai as he feels disgusted and ghosted by friends.
The renowned director went on to add that there is a loss of joy in filmmaking, and blamed agencies for pushing aspiring actors to prioritise stardom over acting skills.
Kashyap accused these agencies of exploiting young actors for profit and abandoning them when they fail to deliver.
Interacting with the media, Anurag articulated the escalating costs of filmmaking, attributing it to rising salaries and other factors. Adding now, it’s difficult for him to go out and experiment as it comes at a cost, which makes his producers think about profit and margins. Right from the beginning, before the film starts, it becomes about how to sell it. So, the joy of filmmaking is sucked out. That’s why he wants to move out of Mumbai to settle down in South Film Industry in the New Year 2025. He wants to go where there is stimulation. Otherwise, he will die as an old man. He is much disappointed and disgusted by his own industry and disgusted by the mindset.
Anurag laid emphasises on how a film like Manjummel Boys would never be made in Hindi cinema but, if successful, would likely be remade in Hindi.
Adding that the mindset is to remake what’s already worked. They won’t try anything new.
He turned critical specifically on agencies for fostering a damaging culture among budding actors. The first-generation actors and the really entitled ones are very painful to deal with.
None want to act, but only want to be stars. The agency won’t make anybody a star, but the moment someone becomes a star, the agency makes money off them. The onus of finding talent is on you—you have to take a risk and firefight with 50 people. And when the film is made, the agency grabs them and turns them into a star. They will brainwash them and tell them what they need to do to become a star. They won’t send them to workshops but to the gym—it’s all glam-glam because they have to be massive stars.
Kashyap further accused agencies of creating a barrier between actors and filmmakers. He cited an incident on an actor who disappeared on the advice of his agency but later returned to him for career guidance after being dumped by the same agency. “This is what the agency does they just make money off you. They aren’t invested in building new careers.
The filmmaker also expressed disappointment with actors he had previously considered friends. His actors, whom he thought of as friends, ghost you because they want to be in a certain way. That happens mostly here; it doesn’t happen in Malayalam cinema..Anurag recently made his acting debut in the Malayalam film
Rifle Club, which also marked the acting debut of rapper Hanumankind.
News Edit KV Raman
