Anurag Kashyap opens up about Nishaanchi and making a masterpiece film: ‘In my head it was Bombay Velvet’

Anurag Kashyap

Anurag Kashyap has given Indian cinema one of its finest films, like Gangs of Wasseypur and Black Friday, to name a few. However, during his recent conversation with Sit with Hitlist, the filmmaker shared how he never thought Gangs of Wasseypur could be the ‘masterpiece' he always dreamt of making.

The filmmaker also got candid about a few controversies attached to his name, such as the Epstein Files mention and the IT raid at his home.

Anurag Kashyap reacts to the Epstein Files mention and IT raid

When asked about his name being mentioned in the controversial Epstein Files, he promptly says, "In a mail. In a random mail," before adding, "We get invitations from Harvard, Yale, everywhere. I don't know. I have never been to Beijing. I have been to Shanghai in China once before 2014, I did a recce for Bombay Velvet."

He further jokes that he thinks to himself, "Wow! What a company I have."

Further talking about the IT raid at his house in 2021. He shared, "It had more to do with Phantom Films, because we got out and we split, and the valuation. What was there? What wasn't there? Who has it? Who doesn't have it? All that kind of thing happened."

Further talking about the producing films phase of his career, he reveals, "I was the happiest when I was not a producer." He adds, "I know how to spot people. I do that today as well, but I send them to places, people who I know will make the films."

He further shares, "My weak point is handling money, for which I am always dependent on somebody else. And that somebody else has always let me down. So, instead of constantly being let down, it is better to work as a director."

Anurag Kashyap opens up about the failure of Nishaanchi

The filmmaker also opened up about making a masterpiece. When pointed out that he had already made a masterpiece in Gangs of Wasseypur, the filmmaker says he didn't know that when making the film. He adds that in his head Bombay Velvet was a masterpiece, and not Gangs of Wasseypur."

Kashyap adds, "I love making films. I never had the end result in mind. I never thought what would be made. I just wanted to honestly make a film."

Talking of his recent release, Nishaanchi, he says, "I have sat on Nishaanchi for 8 years to do it the right way, thinking I am doing something for myself, and this film as a whole is going to be a masterpiece."

He further adds, "By the time it came out, nobody wanted to see the film. They wanted to speed it up. After the film was released, I was talking to my producer that ‘Do you think I should just sit down and try and make a faster cut for today's generation?' But that is not how I wanted to make this film."