Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap pulled no punches as he described the trend of ‘pan-India’ filmmaking as a “massive scam” during a session at The Huddle by The Hindu.
Mr. Kashyap, known for iconic cult movies like Dev D and Gangs of Wasseypur, said that a film can only be anointed ‘pan-India’ when it has become successful across the nation, and not before. Films like Baahubali, KGF and Pushpa pulled large crowds and shattered box-office benchmarks, setting in motion across industries the desire to emulate their style and staging. This reverse-engineering is disingenuous, and, at times, a way to inflate budgets and fees, said Mr. Kashyap.
“’Pan-India’, in my opinion, is a massive scam,” he said, adding, “A film goes into production for 3-4 years. A lot of people are surviving on that film and their lifestyle also depends on it. All the money doesn’t go into the film. And the money that does, it is spent on these massive, unreal sets that do not make sense. And only 1% of it works.”
Often, the films that actually become successful have ‘zero-expectations’ riding on them, said Mr. Kashyap, citing the example of the first Stree (2018), which started the cycle of recent horror-comedies in Hindi cinema.
“Uri: The Surgical Strike became a success and everyone started doing nationalistic films. Post Baahubali, everybody want to do these big-ass movies with Prabhas or somebody else. KGF became a success and everyone wants to emulate that. That’s where the decline of storytelling begins,” Mr. Kashyap said.
Decoding the phenomenon of SS Rajamouli, whose last film, RRR, was a raging global hit, Mr. Kashyap said that the fan base of the visionary Telugu filmmaker has been steadily expanding since the days of Eega (2012). He compared Rajamouli to South Korean director Bong Joon Ho, whose Parasite (2019) won the Academy Award for Best Picture but who has been establishing his credentials since the cult classic Memories of Murder (2003).
“Much before RRR released, I predicted that it would be the film that will break out from India. I travel to international film festivals and I have had filmmakers from Belgium, Switzerland and all across requesting me to tell them more about Rajamouli. Two of them, in fact, came down to Mumbai and then visited the sets of RRR for a week.”
On streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video “dumbing down” their content to ensnare the average consumer, Mr. Kashyap said the output of these streamers in India has become ‘worse than television’. Their interest in backing meaningful and discerning content took a sharp tumble post the pandemic, the Sacred Games director opined.
“These companies are coming into India because data is the new oil. In a country of 1.5 billion, they want to maximise their subscription,” Mr Kashyap said. “They want to reach out to everyone and not offend anyone. They are not trying to create art but ‘content’. They are happy with people watching shows on smartphones.”
Mr. Kashyap recently made headlines for his strong comments supporting the film Phule, a biopic of social reformers Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule, which faced opposition from Brahmin groups.
“We are living in times of great offence,” Mr. Kashyap said at The Huddle. “Everybody gets offended too often. So you have to walk very carefully.”
The Hindu Huddle 2025 is presented by Sami-Sabinsa Group
Co-powered by: Government of Karnataka, Government of Telangana
Associate Partners: ONGC, Presidency University, TAFE, Akshayakalpa Organic
Energy Partner : Indian Oil Corporation Limited
Realty partner: Casagrand
Knowledge partner: Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
State partner: Meghalaya tourism and Haryana government
Luxury car partner: Toyota
Radio partner: Radio City
Gift partner: Anand Prakash
Broadcast partner: Times Now
Outdoor media partner: Signpost India
Published – May 10, 2025 05:58 pm IST