FILM INTERVIEW: ANURAG KASHYAP
Filmmaker Comments on the State of Indian Entertainment, Changing Values, Censorship
If anyone is listening to Anurag Kashyap, who has directed or written films such as Paanch, Black Friday, Dev D, Udaan, and That Girl In Yellow Boots, going to the cinema for the purpose of escaping reality has next to no meaning nowadays. Though, at least the bold filmmaker has a valid point to make – there should be no censorship in films.
While many films are all about imagination and pushing the moviegoer to escape their world in order to see a whole new universe, there are some filmmakers who are all about cinema mimicking reality; the 37-year-old Kashyap is one of those filmmakers.
Naturally, as a creative mind operating amongst a relatively conservative and repressive Indian culture, Kashyap feels he is limited in the way he can present his ideas – and who can blame him for feeling ever so slighted in the self-expression department? After all, this is a film industry and country that was up in arms over Richard Gere innocently planting a kiss on Shilpa Shetty’s cheek at a 2007 AIDS awareness event in India.
Such limited tolerance or acceptance of public displays of affection – as well as other not-so-black-and-white acts such as adverse political protests or social commentary – have translated over into Indian cinema, particularly Bollywood — the country’s most popular visual medium. According to Kashyap, such limitations on what a filmmaker may present in his or her work amounts to a form of approved censorship, and the bold filmmaker does not like it one bit.
“There shouldn’t be any censorship on making a film. We are still very conservative about the term ‘sex,’” Kashyap said about his struggles to make films despite public and governmental apparent limitations placed upon him and others. “I am trying to push my boundaries so that everything in the film looks real.”
Speaking to reporters at the 11th Mumbai Film Festival this week, Kashyap said it is quite difficult to push the envelope in criticizing the government and discussing sexual relations in his movies.
The Bollywood filmmaker has never shied away from controversy, of course, especially with reality-based films such as Black Friday (about 1993 Mumbai Bombings) and Dev D (about prostitution and sex). Yet he questions whether he can make a politically charged film such as Oliver Stone’s JFK, Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 or, more recently, Gabriel Range’s Death of A President.
“Death of A President was made with President George Bush still alive, but we can’t introduce a scene where four people are chatting over tea and cursing politician Raj Thackeray,” Kashyap pointedly said.
Kashyap did acknowledge the business side of Bollywood oftentimes prevents a filmmaker or producer from challenging norms or pushing the envelope – not because of censorship, but instead because of financial constraints.
“There is a scarcity of producers who can risk new ideas. Most of the producers are businessmen, and they look for recovery,” he said. “They invest only if they are convinced that the story will sell.”
In addition to challenging moviegoers and producers, Kashyap also criticized the organizers of the Mumbai Film Festival for only showing one screening per participating film instead of two to three viewings at other film festivals.
“At any other film festival, there are at least two to three screenings of every film,” he said. “MFF is the first place where there is only one screening. People should complain about it.”
He also targeted line producers and studio big-wigs who, he feels, spend too much money on film production. Kashyap point out the recent global recession has helped Bollywood focus more on the bottom line and eliminate many unnecessary costs.
“Recession has cut Bollywood into shape,” he observed. “Miscellaneous expenses were more than the actual cost of the film. Recession helped in cutting down the fat. I always make a film on a tight budget.”
Indeed, many of Kashyap’s films have been on a strict budget, mostly motivated by his early days living in Mumbai on a shoestring budget and struggling to find a place to live in pursuit of his film-making career.
Whether or not Kashyap’s words or career have any impact on the progression of Bollywood as a film industry is left to be seen, but one thing is for certain – his next film, Udaan, is already complete, and there will probably be a few segments of society who will not be terribly happy with the flick’s message. But then again, if Kashyap is not inciting controversy, he probably feels he is not doing his job.
