Mumbai: Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap celebrated his 50th birthday on September 10. In an old interview, he had spoken about fellow-filmmaker Karan Johar and recalled thinking he was a misfit for Bombay Talkies. In the 2013 interview, Anurag also said that Karan’s short film was the best in the anthology tribute to 100 years of Indian cinema.
Bombay Talkies, which released in May 2013, is a compilation of four short stories directed by four different filmmakers – Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Karan Johar. It had released around same date, when India’s first feature film –Raja Harishchandra – by the legendary Dadasaheb Phalke was released in 1913. Since Bombay Talkies, Anurag and Karan have collaborated on the anthologies Lust Stories and Ghost Stories.
While promoting Bombay Talkies, Anurag had opened up on how his perception of Karan had changed over the years. “Initially, I used to feel that Karan is a misfit but not anymore. The more I have discovered him, I love him a lot. I identify with him on a lot on many things in life. And he is also who he is because of where he comes from. He aspires to be a filmmaker… he is constantly trying to change himself, adapt to situations, produces films for younger lot… The only difference is he has the resources that I don’t have. I find a parallel in what he does. I like him as an individual now,” Anurag was quoted as saying in 2013 by news agency PTI.
A few months later, Anurag was seen as a guest alongside actor Anushka Sharma on Karan Johar’s chat show Koffee with Karan (KWK) season 4. He had previously called KWK a ‘mutual masturbation society’. Explaining his comment, Anurag had said on the show, “I resented anyone who had anything that I felt I didn’t have. Which was a theatrical release! I was extremely angry, judgmental and opinionated. You were like this rich kid.” He had added, “I think I saw one episode, where I saw all friends sitting there and praising each other.”
The filmmaker’s latest release was Taapsee Pannu-starrer Dobaaraa, which premiered at various film festivals around the world. It is the Hindi remake of the 2018 Spanish film Mirage. Anurag’s film Gangs of Wasseypur, featuring Manoj Bajpayee, Pankaj Tripathi, Huma Qureshi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Richa Chadha, recently completed 10 years of its release. The film had achieved a cult status in India post its release in 2012.
