Anurag Kashyap: Bollywood needs to get rid of mediocrity or Hollywood will take over

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who has helmed hard-hitting films like ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, feels that the Hindi film industry needs to pull up its socks as regional cinema is “threatening” the industry and even Hollywood may “take over” the national market with its dubbed version of films.

“The more regional cinema will threaten us, Bollywood will work harder. We are threatened from everywhere because we are more mediocre as compared to everybody else. We have to get rid of our mediocrity and pull up our socks and make better films,” Kashyap told IANS here.

“Apart from regional films, Hollywood will definitely take over because they have started dubbing everything. We have to start making better content,” he added.
Regional cinema, which has always been high on content, has also now started to be a money spinner at the box office. With films like ‘Sairat’ (Marathi), ‘Thithi’ (Kannada) and ‘Kammatti Paadam’ (Malayalam) among others, it is coming into the spotlight in a big way.

Kashyap also believes that unlike Hollywood, Bollywood is a star-driven market.

“Sometimes you need stars in the west… (But) when the idea is bigger, you go for a newcomer. In Hollywood, they will go for a newcomer because they believe in the idea. Here, when the idea is bigger, they go for the star because they don’t believe in the idea… It’s a star-driven market,” he said.

The filmmaker also doesn’t “enjoy” controversy.

“In this country, people can’t deal with honesty… I talk straight… I am not a person who looks for controversy. I don’t enjoy controversy so much. Today, everybody has an opinion, and in a sea of opinions, it doesn’t matter,” the 43-year-old said.

Of late, Kashyap said, he has become “very selfish”.

“I want to live my life and my focus is on work and my family. I am 43 now and I have seen a lot in life. My entire focus is on my own happiness,” added the filmmaker, whose last directorial ‘Bombay Velvet’ failed to elicit the response he had expected.

Kashyap said his journey in the industry has been “quite a roller coaster ride”.

“It feels good and I would not like to change anything about my journey. It’s quite satisfying if I get to do what I want to, I am happy. I am my own boss,” he added.

He is currently busy promoting his film ‘Raman Raghav 2.0’, which narrates the story of serial killer Raman Raghav, who went on a murder spree in Mumbai in the 1960s. It features Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the notorious serial killer alongside Vicky Kaushal, who plays a police officer.

Kashyap also admitted his fascination with the crime genre.

“I enjoy making crime films. I, as a director, never left that space. I am fascinated by crime,” he said.

The psychological-thriller, presented by Reliance Entertainment and a product of Phantom Films, is set to hit theatres on June 24.

Inputs from IANS

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Amod Pandit

Quiet, resonant, and creative, he can be seen immersed in his own world, and puts in his heart and soul into the one passion that he has, Bollywood. His line for survival? Feel happy to be a part of it.