Anurag Kashyap is one filmmaker who has been quite vocal about his views on the Hindi film industry. Now in a recent interview with Humans of Cinema, the filmmaker mentioned how Bollywood’s prime focus is to earn Rs 500 crore, instead of making good films.
“I have often seen that success destroys more than it breeds. When Sairat made Rs. 100 crore, I told Nagraj Manjule, who is my friend, that Marathi cinema is now finished. Because now no one will want to tell stories, they would want to earn ₹100 crore,” the filmmaker said. He further mentioned that Bollywood is not focusing on good stories but is moving towards the pan-India trend. Anurag said that Bollywood wants to make Rs. 500 to 800 crore, and not make films. “For that, you have to first dumb down your films, sacrifice your story. And it’s not like it is an original voice; all follow a formula and copy each other,” he said.
Anurag further argued how if one looks at 10 pan-India films, all will look the same, and how one or two might work but not all. This never benefits the health of the industry as the films then start to bomb in huge numbers. One or two will work, then everyone will copy, and then everything will flop,” Anurag added.
In the same interview, the filmmaker slammed the rising costs of an actor’s entourage cost in Bollywood, and how it has increased post the OTT boom. He mentioned how filmmakers aren’t spending on just the film, but also the paraphernalia attached with it, and a lot of money goes into the entourage. He said, “You’re shooting in the middle of a jungle, but one car will be sent to the city three hours away specifically to get you that five-star burger you want.”
Meanwhile, Anurag, known for projects like ‘Black Friday’, ‘Dev D’, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, ‘Sacred Games’, and ‘Manmarziyaan, is all set to play a villain in Disney+Hotstar show ‘Bad Cop’. The Fremantle India’s first fictional series production in India is helmed by Aditya Datt, and adapted by Rensil D’Silva.
