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Interview Anurag Kashyap (Part 2) : A Man With A Vision

AUTHOR

Saakshi O. Juneja

Anurag Kashyap :
Making His Way in
Bollywood

My sincere apologies for the delay but believe me life has been pretty hectic and engaging off-line as well.
But as they say Its better to be late than never, so here I am presenting the second part of my interview session with writer/director Anurag Kayshap.
What is the most frustrating thing about directing for you? Or you prefer script-writing?
No I love making films but the problem is of films not releasing. The most frustrating thing in this country is that people dont understand what an original idea is.
And they dont understand something till they have not seen it no wonder DVDs are sold so easily. You wont believe I get nearly five times more in amount for
copying a film than writing an original film.
And with this I say films like Mixed Doubles or Anwar they are original concepts.
Producers and directors dont have enough money to make a film than where will they pay a writer to write something different something new.
But then if you pick up a successful DVD film and they will be ready to pay you any amounts. Because this way its easy to attract stars. See all these famous
people have their own fantasies and desires, so if you tell them I am making a Mission Impossible and want you to play Tom Cruises role in it or making Kill
Bill and need you as Uma Thurman then they get excited.
Then there is this feudalism still existing in this industry. For instance,Fanna was banned in Gujarat which I think was total bullshit. But never before you saw the
industry people coming out as a family and then I read a front page article in Mid-Day where Hrithik Roshan was talkingabout democracy. I remember him
watching a private screening ofBlack Friday and loving the film and then for one month trying to get me to do Krrish and talking about other things. That was that
and nobody talked. He didnt understand democracy then. But now because it was a Yash Raj film they all started voicing their opinion, giving interviews on
democracy and freedom of speech and all.

So for me this selective democracy, selective secularism and selective rights is what bothers me about this industry. And if you look at it from any which way, you
have these few families in this industry who run the show. They are actually like a mafia and they are the bullies and they play like bullies and thats the sad part.
There is so much talent but it gets lost in these fringes. We have more hypocrisy and bifurcation and thats the main worry for people like me.
Do you think there is a lack of good scripts in Bollywood?
No. Actually we have no good producers. And right from Yash to a one film producer nobody understands an original script. I meet lot of talented writers but
nobody wants to produce their film because they prefer the tried and test formula kinds. Only if you manage to get hold of someone who thinks what he thinks will
work and have massive financial backing, only then you can get a green signal for your script.
So systematically good writers are simply skinned. I know many writers who are today writing what they never wanted to but now they have no choice but to flow
with the flow. I know many who are loaded with original scripts but nobody wants to touch them, they see the size of the script and say, who wants to read it, tell
the story in two lines and such things.
How would you describe your relationship with Kay Kay Menon?
Kay Kay to me is a good friend, more like an older brother. We dont get to interact much because I am most of the time in my room and he too is a very private
person. So we land up meeting for cricket matches and the only place where I dont like him is when he is on the cricket field. He is a very bad looser and if he
starts loosing, he gets really angry and upset. He is the captain of our team and an overly passionate cricket lover.
But off the field he is an awesome guy and a great friend.
Which actor/actress you would like to work with in the near future?
You know the sad bit is that the two actors I would really like to work with would never work with me. One is Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and the other is Mr.
Naseeruddin Shah who has already turned me down twice, one for Black Friday and then for another script.
What is your take on casting couch in Bollywood?
Casting Couch ofcouse it exists. See there can be no smoke without fire but then you cant even blame just one person for it. I would say that its couch of
convenience where two parties exists. And then you also casting back seat of car, casting hotel room, casting Khandala, etc. etc.
Any of the recent movie, you wish you were part off?
Hindihmmm. Well there are quite a few, I wish I was part of Omkarain any which way. Or Maqbool, Company which is my favourite Ram Gopal Verma film. After
that he has made nothing but all crap films.
Whats your take on Rang De Basanti?
I really liked the film. I know the ending a bit utopian in terms of execution and all but I think the movie was good. It was total entertaining. I know some who dont
like the film for what it stands for and take it very seriously but I feel that the film has done more good than bad. Like I think at least it made students discuss
politics, think about it and see the state of the nation. It may be accurate and all but when you are kids you do tend to react the way the characters in that film did.
What movie genres hold special interest for you?
I like a lot of films. But Noir is my favourite and I like a lot of short films. I love graphic novels like Sin City, Head On, 36, etc. I also like what is coming out Japan
and Korea. And every good film I like I buy.
What do you think about Bollywoods acceptance in the International circuit?

I dont think Bollywood is accepted. I go to these international festivals and we are seen as a big joke. They say, oh you have nice dance and songs in your film
and things like that. But they surely dont take us seriously. And we ourselves dont take cinema seriously and frankly we dont care. In all these festivals and
shows, you will find that the ones they dont trust our Indians because they are scared that we wont send the film prints on time or back out last minute.
I have seen many times people promising, committing and then not being bothered to fulfill them. So therefore they refrain from dealing with Indians.
How would you define crossover cinema?
Its nothing but bullshit. As per the definition it is a film made in India and done well overseas but if you look at films like Bend it like Beckham andMonsoon
Wedding then they are not because they were produced by people outside of India. In India nobody would have put a rupee in it at that time. There is one film
made in India called Samsara, which has yet not been released and this is the case for the past five years. It did a fantastic job overseas, made over 25 million
worldwide but in India nobody has heard of it so much so not even the Indian film industry knows of it. So crossover is a bastardized term, we have people saying
that they are making films for big festivals, like Cannes. But frankly the Cannes people dont even care about what we make.
What do think about the whole remake trend going these days? Would you consider directing such a movie, if offered?
Well it is business. And its not only here but everywhere. As I said earlier our industry is controlled by these seven or eight people and they have the power to
decide what will be shown and what will not. Plus these guys dont understand originality and therefore are pleased with repeating whats been already done. So
now when they run out of the tried-n-tested scripts they are now getting on with the re-make trend.
But we dont care; even though we are a loss making industry compared to others around the world we are still happy within ourselves. We dont want to look
outside our well, which is again a major drawback.
Can you tell us something on your new and forthcoming films?
Well there is this script I wanted to do for the past eight years, its calledCigarette smoking is injurious to health (now called No Smoking) and finally its coming
together. Plus I finally get to work with a big star; John Abraham is the lead in it. He was the only guy who within five minutes from hearing the script said he
wanted to do this film. Then I had no producer, so he said not to worry and he will get one. And he was ready to do whatever for the film and that sort of
enthusiasm is what I wanted to see from him.
And I would say that it was he who made me even more excited over the script. Now Kumar Mangat is producing the film and its a comedy thriller.
After this I shall continue my quest in making better films.
Well things have surely changed a lot and that too for the better for Anurag. His forthcoming film No Smoking is being looked at as one of the most awaited films of
2007 and not only that his much talked about film Black Friday was given a green signal by Mumbai court and released this Friday.
Initial reports and reviews have been fantastic and in all praises for the young director. So one can say that Anurag has finally made his entry in Bollywood and
that too in a big way, though I wonder if he thinks all this has been worth the wait.
Anyways armed with clear intentions, a strong mind, giving-a-damn attitude and more importantly passionate love for cinema Anurag has managed tear down
the Bollywood barriers but whether this newly found world of lime-light and glamour manages to burn down his very same passion (like it has done to many
others) or not is something only time will tell.

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