Mumbai: High-budget, gritty filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, whose movies like Gangs of Wasseypur, Black Friday, and Dev.D were award winners, has exited Bollywood. His departure marks an end of an era for viewers of Hindi cinema, who will now miss his unconventional style of telling crime and unconventional love stories.
Criticism of Bollywood’s Evolution
Kashyap had lamented the commercialisation and toxicity of Bollywood before he left the Hindi film industry. In his opinion, the world of cinema today cares more about making money than art. In Kashyap’s opinion, most directors today care more about making blockbusters that cost hundreds of crores of rupees than making movies with content. In his opinion, Bollywood has moved away from storytelling towards spectacle without caring too much about the content of art.
Although commercialisation of Bollywood is nothing new, Kashyap believes the problem has intensified, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for people like him to thrive. Aggrieved with the new situation, he has now shifted his full focus to South Indian cinema, which he believes has more creative room.
Influence on a New Generation of Filmmakers
Kashyap’s films have inspired many of the new-generation filmmakers, primarily those who are producing crime-based web series and short films on OTT. His style of filmmaking and realistic portrayal of society set him apart, and his films are the benchmark of realism in Indian cinema.
Transition to South Cinema
In the recent past, Kashyap has been making consistent inroads into the South Indian film industry. His latest release, Maharaja, in which he shared screen space with Vijay Sethupathi, was well received. His on-screen presence in the film raised questions about the director-actor dichotomy, establishing his dual skill in the two roles. Currently, he can be seen promoting the Hindi version of Footage, directed by Saiju Sreedharan, starring Manju Warrier, Vishak Nair, and Gayatri Ashok. The film is releasing this Friday. Apart from that, Kashyap will also be acting in Dacoit, releasing in Hindi and Telugu, which is a tale of a ruthless criminal.
A Journey Based on Reality
Kashyap’s film journey started under the guidance of Ram Gopal Varma, after having been a part of street theatre and Jan Natya Manch in college. His initiation into world cinema at a film festival made him a huge fan of Vittorio De Sica, with a special appreciation for Bicycle Thieves. That experience planted the seeds of his directorial vision, which was later honed under Varma’s tutelage. His first major success as a screenwriter was with Satya, which became a huge hit with the audience for its realistic portrayal.
His movies, such as Gangs of Wasseypur and Black Friday, were experimental films but turned out to be huge hits, going on to set his own unique style. He also reworked the traditional love story Devdas with Dev.D, removing all its melodrama and basing it on realism. By relocating the story’s backdrop from Bengal to Punjab, he made it a gritty, unadulterated tale of love and crime.
A Director Who Redefined Crime Film
Kashyap’s films have always offered a holistic picture of the criminal world, not merely as an element of thrills but as a sociopolitical observation. His films, like Mukkabaaz, Gulaal, Ugly, Raman Raghav 2.0, No Smoking, and Manmarziyaan, are all evidence of how he can project the complexity of human nature set against a ruthless, realistic scenario.
But with the recent wave of Bollywood’s penchant for big-budgeted mass entertainers, there is no room for Kashyap’s kind of cinema. While the mainstream directors use fantasy in the name of entertainment, he is committed to storytelling with a realist base.
Will South Cinema Grant Kashyap the Creative Autonomy He Seeks?
With his shift away from Bollywood, Kashyap is exploring new creative horizons in South Indian cinema. The question on everyone’s mind: Will he be able to repeat in the South what he achieved with films like Gangs of Wasseypur, Black Friday, and Dev.D? Or will he go in a new direction in a cinema that is rapidly picking up pan-India momentum?
Kashyap has also been involved in a number of controversies in Bollywood, typically on the receiving end of criticism for his candid remarks. In his opinion, South Indian cinema enjoys a healthier artistic environment, free from the political and industry-sponsored acrimony of Mumbai’s film industry. As he sets out on this new path, cinephiles and industry observers alike will be holding their breath to see whether Anurag Kashyap is able to reroute his career graph in South cinema or forge an entirely new celluloid persona in the process.