Anurag Kashyap: If I were to direct someone from Kannada cinema it would be…

Anurag Kashyap, who, for the longest time was better known as the filmmaker behind movies like Dev.D, Gangs of Wasseypur, Manmarziyaan, among many others, has been making headlines off late having left Bollywood behind for good and choosing to settle in the south. He is rumoured to have found his spot of peace in Wayanad, after he spent time there during the shoot of his Malayalam film Rifle Club , although there are also murmurs that he’s made Bengaluru home. Either which way, Anurag’s been busy in south cinema, as an actor, and following gigs in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, he is now coming to Kannada.

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Anurag has been roped in as the leading man of an upcoming sports drama called 8, directed by Sujay Shastry, which will go on floors in April. Details of his role have not been revealed, but it’s a character that he took up despite his busy schedule, as he liked the subject. The filmmaker-actor was in Bengaluru this week for the official announcement of the film, during which he spoke about his long association with Kannada cinema, which began decades ago, when he spent time on the set of Real Star Upendra’s directorial Upendra, having seen Om and A on Ram Gopal Rao’s suggestion.

Anurag Kashyap's recent Kananda cinema associations

More recently, Anurag has been working closely with Raj B Shetty and Pedro filmmaker Natesh Hegde. Although Rishab Shetty Films was credited as production banner of Natesh’s sophomore feature Vagachipani, mid-way, Anurag came along and helped finish it. As producer, he recently took the film to the Berlin film festival. Since then, Anurag has got Raj, who was a part of Vagachipani, to do a role in his next directorial, while he co-starred with Natesh in Rifle Club. It’s an ongoing collaboration, so it came as no wonder that when Anurag was asked about the Kannada actor he’d like to direct, he said, “Right now, the actor that I discovered and worked with is Raj B Shetty, so if I were to direct someone from Kannada cinema, it would be Raj.”

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As for 8, the team makes no claim of it being special or different, as it follows a sports drama underdog template. But what will make it stand out are the life lessons that Anurag’s character imparts to the wards he trains.