Bollywood's profit-centric mindset upsets Anurag Kashyap, Leaving Mumbai

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has expressed his frustration with the current state of Bollywood, revealing plans to leave Mumbai and shift to the South for creative stimulation. In a candid interview, the Gangs of Wasseypur director criticised the Hindi film industry's obsession with profits, remakes, and star-making culture, which he says stifles creativity and innovation.

“Now it is difficult for me to go out and experiment as it comes at a cost, which makes my producers think about profit and margins,” Kashyap told The Hollywood Reporter. “Right from the beginning, before the film starts, it becomes about how to sell it. So, the joy of filmmaking is sucked out. That’s why I want to move out of Mumbai next year. I am going to the South. I want to go where there is stimulation. Otherwise, I will die as an old man. I am so disappointed and disgusted by my own industry. I am disgusted by the mindset," the director-actor said.

Kashyap lamented that films like Manjummel Boys, which showcase fresh and experimental narratives, would never originate in Bollywood but would instead be remade if successful. “The mindset is to remake what’s already worked. They will not try anything new,” he said, highlighting the reluctance to take creative risks.

The filmmaker also criticised the influence of talent agencies, which, he claims, prioritise profit over nurturing genuine talent. “The first-generation actors and the really entitled ones are very painful to deal with. Nobody wants to act—they all want to be stars,” he remarked.

Kashyap shared an anecdote about an actor who initially abandoned him on the advice of an agency but later returned for guidance after being dropped.

“This is what the agency does—they just make money off you. They aren’t invested in building new careers. They don't want new actors to grow. Instead of sending them to acting workshops, they will send them to gyms,” he said. Kashyap also added that agencies have become a "wall" between the actors and the filmmakers.

He further expressed disappointment with actors he once considered friends. “One of my actors, whom I thought of as friends, ghost you because they want to be a certain way. That happens mostly here; it doesn’t happen in Malayalam cinema,” he noted, praising the collaborative spirit of the Southern film industry.

Anurag Kashyap recently featured in the Malayalam action thriller Rifle Club, which released in theatres on December 19, 2024.