'Disgusted' Anurag Kashyap is tired of 'God-like' egos in Bollywood, wants to move out of Mumbai

Anurag Kashyap's rants with Bollywood aren't rare. Now, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, the filmmaker went on to say that he's so “disgusted” and “disappointed” with the Hindi film industry that he's planning to relocate to the South of India for a more ‘stimulative’ environment. (Also Read: Sanjay Gupta slams Naga Vamsi's ‘disgusting attitude’ towards Boney Kapoor during clash over Bollywood vs South Cinema)

Anurag on plans to move to South

“I envy them (South filmmakers). Because now, it's difficult for me to go out and experiment. Because now, it comes at a cost. Which makes my producers think about profit. They're like, ‘Where are my margins? I’m losing money.' I'm like, ‘You don’t want to make this movie? Don't make this movie. But I just cannot.' Because right from the beginning, before the film starts, it becomes about ‘how do we sell it?’ So the joy of filmmaking is sucked out. That's why I want to move out. Literally, next year, I'm moving out of Mumbai," Anurag said.

Anurag said the reason he wants to relocate to South is because he craves ‘stimulation.’ Otherwise he'd ‘die out an old man.’ He's “disgusted” and “disappointed” by the mindsets in Bollywood. He quoted the example of Chidambaram S. Poduval's blockbuster Malayalam survival thriller Manjummel Boys, which would never be made in Hindi, but as soon as it's a hit in Malayalam, its remake rights would be acquired by a Bollywood producer. He said Hindi cinema doesn't want to make anything new, which doesn't have a reference point.

Bollywood can't make a Pushpa

Anurag said Bollywood can't even make a money-spinner like Pushpa. “They cannot because they don't have the brains to make a film. They don't understand what filmmaking is. A Pushpa is made by a Sukumar. If you go down South, they invest in a filmmaker and empower them to make a film. One of the bestest minds to empower filmmakers is Suresh Babu, Rana's (Daggubati) father. He's empowered so many first-time filmmakers. He talks so much sense. But I don't know why people in Hindi don't listen to him. And he's not a random person. And he's talking commerce, he's not talking art. But he can see. He has a vision. Here, everyone is trying to create a formula. They think if one thing works, everyone is trying to create a universe. I don't understand. Do you understand your own universe you live in? How minuscule you are? That's the ego. Since you're creating a universe, you think you're God. That's the arrogance,” Anurag added.

However, Anurag didn't spare all South films. He said that he recently read a statement by filmmaker S Shankar that he's made his next, Ram Charan-starrer action entertainer Game Changer, like how the audience consumes Instagram Reels. Anurag said he isn't sure what that means, but once filmmakers start thinking of what the audience wants, they've signed up for a downfall. Anurag said filmmakers like Shankar, whom he once considered ‘chefs,’ have now become ‘caterers.’

Anurag's disillusionment also stems from the fate of his recent film Kennedy, which is lying unreleased with the production house, Zee Studios. However, he admitted that he's detached himself from that film's fate since he doesn't want to be “pulled down” by this setback, like he was by that of his yet-unreleased debut film Paanch (2003) and the much-delayed Black Friday (2004).

Anurag is currently busy acting in South films as he admitted that getting his daughter Aaliyah Kashyap married in a big fat Indian wedding demands him to be more than just an indie filmmaker. He was last seen in Rifle Club and Viduthalai Part 2.