Amidst criticism from the critics, the audiences, and the entertainment industry, after the release of Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna starrer Animal, director Sandeep Reddy Vanga found support in filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. He heaped praises on Vanga, through a social media post, and called his film “the biggest game changer of Hindi cinema.” having dealt with his fair share of controversies, he has faced similar experiences where he was criticised for making movies that left the netizens feeling uncomfortable.
Now, in a recent interview, he opened up about why he extended a hand of support to Vanga and drew comparisons from his experiences. Kashyap expressed how he felt a sense of satisfaction watching the Animal director succeed and stand up for himself and his project. He explained how he likes him because he is ‘honest’ and doesn’t “pretend to be someone they are not”. Calling such people “toxic,” he added, “Vanga is an honest man. I don’t like anything more than honesty, no matter what others’ issues with honesty are. I love talking to him.” ALSO READ: Anurag Kashyap Dealt With ‘Extreme Sickness’ For 2.5 Years; Filmmaker Says, ‘I’m Not Physically, Mentally, Emotionally Healed’
Further in his interview with Zoom, he elaborated that Animal made a huge impact which cannot be denied. From the action sequences, the movie changed things in “terms of real action scenes, and it was an adult film of three and a half hours.” Recalling how most of his movie Bombay Velvet, co-starring Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma, was censored by Pahlaj Nihalani as they were pushing for it to receive a U/A certificate, Anurag stated that the film didn’t feel like his at the end. ALSO READ: OMG! Anurag Kashyap Expresses ANGER Over ‘Wasted Time Trying To Help Newcomers’; Filmmaker Reveals His Rates For ‘Random People’
Quoted by Indian Express, he shared, “They cut my film Bombay Velvet to two hours and fifty minutes and censored scenes because they were pushing for a U/A certificate. It is my most censored film and Pahlaj Nihalani (the then chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification-CBFC) personally made sure that he cut scenes from it. I got no support. I was under so much pressure during Bombay Velvet about the recovery and opening of the film. But it didn’t feel like mine anymore. I should have been stubborn like Sandeep and fought back to keep my version.”
After the release of Dev D, the 51-year-old filmmaker shared that he was cancelled. Many called him name for directing a movie like mes for directing a film like That Girl in Yellow Boots. He added, “After That Girl in Yellow Boots, when I was still married to Kalki, who played the lead role in the movie, one critic wrote, ‘What kind of husband makes his wife do such a role? God knows what their personal life would be.’ This is the mindset many people have. I have navigated such people.”
The Gangs Of Wasseypur filmmaker further added, “I never had a support system. Some called me ‘manhoos‘ and ‘pagal.’ I was easily branded, and I felt so alone and isolated. I felt like everybody was isolating and attacking Sandeep instead of talking to him. My daughter (Aaliyah Kashyap) was quite upset when I put up that post about Animal. My friends from the industry were upset, and I called them over to my house, and we had a long discussion about it.”
He revealed how he wants to call out the hypocrisy of people for criticising and boycotting Animal, then watching it knowing what it is about and then double-cancelling it. Anurag questioned why the netizens and critics are only attacking Sandeep and not the rest of the cast and crew that was associated with the project. “The film is called ‘Animal,’ not ‘human being.’ Sometimes I feel we have become overly woke. We just form opinions and accuse people,” he concluded.
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