Filmmaker, now actor, Anurag Kashyap on epic failure of 'Bombay Velvet' last year, and coming out of it stronger
Anurag Kashyap
Anurag Kashyap
For a filmmaker accustomed to garnering mixed reactions to his films, post release response of Sonakshi Sinha-starrer Akira has come as a pleasant surprise for Anurag Kashyap. The director, who crossed over to the other side of the camera, hasn’t got much sleep since last Friday.
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“I have never had this kind of response for the movies I make. I have been up till 5.30 am, responding to calls,” says Kashyap, admitting that the constant word of advice from well-wishers is, ‘Picture banana chod do, ab bas acting karo tum.’
A still from Bombay Velvet
Of course, Kashyap won’t let the adulation change the course of his career plans. “I am a filmmaker and want to make movies. I am loving the attention and my parents are the happiest. They think mera career sudhar gaya hai and I can earn better money now. I am told I am more settled after Akira,” he chuckles.
A quintessential commercial potboiler with a woman as lead isn’t the kind of film that resonates with his brand of cinema. But as an actor, Kashyap surrenders to the director. “I was taken in by AR Murugadoss’ conviction. I never knew why he wanted me as a villain, but one meeting down, I was sure I wanted to work with him,” he confesses.
It is rare to spot the infamously temperamental director in a genuinely cheerful mood. It was almost like he has put the debacle of Bombay Velvet (2015) behind him. Reminded of the mega-budget film, he slips into deep thought before saying, “It will never stop hurting. When you make a film which will go down in history as the industry’s biggest flop, it is not easy to get over it. Till the time I don’t pay back that much money to the industry, I can’t possibly feel better. I don’t have the courage to make big budget films anymore.
“I was lucky that even after the film’s failure, no one ever questioned me. My actors, my producers were there with me in my time of sorrow. In retrospect, the analysis helped. Now, I will only focus on making small-budget films so that no party is affected adversely by it.” But no loss can break his spirit, Kashyap asserts. “Even when I am old and senile, I will find a way to make movies,” he adds.
Currently, the filmmaker is writing his next project even as he mentors young talent at Phantom Productions. “I am the best person to lecture on what not to do. I have made enough mistakes to have a degree on the subject. But I will teach my protégés how they should never give up on their desire to tell stories,” he remarks.
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