Anurag Kashyap opened up about his unreleased film Kennedy, and said he had a heated exchange with those responsible for the film’s delay.
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has opened up about why his film Kennedy is yet to release despite premiering at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. He said five of his projects are still in limbo, and that he has distanced himself from Kennedy in particular.
In an interview, Anurag expressed his desire to move out of Mumbai as he ‘hates’ what he sees around him. He also said that in today’s era, where profits are valued more than creativity, it would be impossible to produce some of the films that made him famous.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Anurag said, “I have made 5 films that have not been released. Where is Kennedy? And who is handling Kennedy? It is being handled by some people who have never made a film before. The people who made Kennedy in the studio are gone. And now, the people who are there have been instructed to raise the share prices, make profits, recover costs… that’s it.
Nobody is interested in films. It doesn’t matter if Kennedy went to Cannes or not; it doesn’t matter if it got such a big reception at the festival or not. Forget outside India, they have seen the reception in India, but where is the film?” Anurag Kashyap said the film industry has been physical disable by the fear of taking risks.
“They don’t understand anything. They can’t even make Pushpa. They can’t because they don’t have the brain to make a film. They don’t understand what filmmaking is. Only Sukumar can make Pushpa. In the South, they invest in filmmakers and empower them to make films. Here, everyone is trying to create a universe.
Do they understand their universe, and how small they are in it? That’s the ego. When you create a universe, you think you are God.” Anurag said that he has learnt to detach himself from unproduced projects.
“I have detached myself from Kennedy, because I don’t want it to become like Black Friday. I will not let anything pull me down in life again…” Asked if there is any bitterness, Anurag said, “No, I feel frustrated, but that’s the way it is. I hate some people a lot, but let them be. I’ve fought my battles, but you can’t fight a wall. I don’t have the energy…”
Earlier, in an interview with The Washington Post, Anurag Kashyap had opened up about Netflix’s last-minute decision to cancel his series adaptation of Maximum City. He said that the cancellation affected him emotionally a lot, leaving him in a state of depression for a long time.
He also shared that this was the time when he suffered two heart attacks, and he took solace by drinking alcohol. The director said, “Maximum City took all my energy. I was heartbroken. I was completely unbelievable” .
