Anurag Kashyap calls out racism in Bollywood: 'They think Nawazuddin is dark-skinned, Manoj Bajpayee gaonwala hai'
Anurag Kashyap recently featured in Maharaja and Bad Cop. He has said that Bollywood doesn't value talented artists like Manoj Bajpayee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
Anurag Kashyap has spoken many bitter facts about Bollywood in his multiple interviews recently. Be it calling out the lack of support to Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine as Light from Indian government or rising star fees, the filmmaker never hesitates to speak his mind. In a recent interview with Janice Sequeira for her YouTube channel, Anurag called out the racism and hypocrisy in the Hindi film industry. (Also read: Anurag on Abhay Deol rift: If I speak the truth, he won't be able to face it)
Anurag Kashyap says industry does not value talent
Anurag said that there is a misconception about him being a star-maker. He referred to Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pankaj Tripathi and Manoj Bajpayee as self-made and opined, “This industry doesn’t respect people. They think that Nawazuddin is dark-skinned, Pankaj Tripathi is normal, Manoj Bajpayee is a ‘gaonwala (villager)’… That’s how they view people. They think if these people can become stars, so can they. They think that I can make anybody a star; I can’t. They don’t realise that these actors are genuinely talented artists. I’ve only made films with them; I haven’t made their life.”
Anurag Kashyap's association with Manoj and Nawazuddin
Anurag has collaborated with Nawazuddin, Manoj and Pankaj in movies like Gangs of Wasseypur - 1 and Gangs of Wasseypur - 2. The filmmaker started his career as a screenwriter in films like Ram Gopal Varma's Satya and Kaun. He made his directorial debut with Paanch, which never got released. His political-thriller Black Friday based on 1993 Mumbai blasts was banned for almost five years beofre it released in theatres. The filmmaker shot to fame with movies like Gulaal, Dev D and his thriller series - Sacred Games based on Vikram Chandra's novel of the same name. Anurag recently played antagonists in Vijay Sethupathi's Tamil action-thriller Maharaja and the crime series - Bad Cop featuring Gulshan Deviah.
Anurag's upcoming neo-noir thriller - Kennedy was screened at Cannes Film Festival 2023.