Anurag Kashyap: 'Gangs Of Wasseypur was taken off cinemas in nine days because of Ek Tha Tiger'

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, known for his films like Dev D and _Manmarziyaan_ , has opened up about decisions concerning his professional life in an interview. The 50-year-old discussed how Bollywood’s box office collections have determined a lot in his career. In a recent chat with The Indian Express, the director talked about his personal experience about how Hindi cinema is hugely controlled by ’the box office’ and ‘star system’. Giving an example of his film Gangs of Wasseypur, he said, it was removed in just nine days because a big film like Ek Tha Tiger was coming to the theatres. Anurag Kashyap on Hindi cinema Anurag Kashyap pointed out that as an independent filmmaker, who can be spotted at every possible film festival, he has ’no ambition to make movies for cultures other than India.’ He further added that “Hindi has a template,” and “is also heavily controlled by the trade, box office and star system.” However, he was not ignorant of the fact that ‘his movies resonate with people all over the world, but not with Hindi audience.’ In his three-decade career, Kashyap has never collaborated with A-list stars. The only time he did was in Bombay Velvet with Ranbir Kapoor, which was a box office bomb. In addition, Anurag Kashyap talked about the fight between commerce and craft and the battle to reach a wider audience with his films. The Kennedy director pointed towards ’equality’ in the Tamil film industry where the first-time filmmakers manage to give five hits and not just with the big stars. Comparing the Hindi film industry to the Malayalam one, he said that Malayalam cinema is not overly based on promotion. On the other hand, a big film’s promotion will dominate the Hindi film industry while a small project will disappear.

Anurag Kashyap on his film Gangs of Wasseypur****

Anurag Kashyap reiterated that while people praise his films like Gangs of Wasseypur, it was pulled from cinema theatres in just nine days because a big movie like Ek Tha Tiger was coming. Calling it a ’theatre-based decision’, he recalled that Gangs of Wasseypur earned a total of Rs 26 crore in nine days but it would have done more if it got space.

He said, “Today, people talk highly about Gangs of Wasseypur, but it was taken off cinemas in nine days because a big film like Ek Tha Tiger was coming. It wasn’t the decision of a star or a producer, it was the decision of the theatres. If that film had done a business of Rs 26 cr in nine days, it would have done more if it got space.”

The precedent with such moves, the filmmaker said, is that “the consequences are also mine, as long as I don’t lose money for others.” He further added that this is one of the reasons hee “keeps his budgets low.”

More from Entertainment

'Jugnuma' Movie Review: Manoj Bajpayee-Deepak Dobriyal’s terrific performances stood out in this beautifully restrained way of storytelling 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale' Movie Review: The final goodbye of Julian Fellowes’s beloved British soap

Work Front

Anurag Kashyap is known for his films like Gangs of Wasseypur, Manmarziyaan and Dobaaraa among others. He is currently awaiting the release of his upcoming movie Kennedy which stars Rahul Bhatt and Sunny Leone in the lead. The film premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and was recently screened as the closing movie at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).