Anurag Kashyap: When I kept my costs low, nobody could dictate to me what films to make

Anurag Kashyap has probably made more movies than money in his 25-year career. Although his most recent film, Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat, failed to find success at the box office, the director can take comfort in the fact that he stuck to the theme he wanted to explore. The director says that Ram Gopal Varma's comment that telling meaningful stories is more important than making money in the movie business was the inspiration for his philosophy.

Anurag recalled and told Mid Day that after Satya [1998] was released, someone was buying a home, and RGV remarked that once the film had become a success, he was buying a house. His EMIs will now be the deciding factor in all of his future decisions, and that has already happened. The filmmaker stayed in a property he rented. No one could tell him what movies to make as long as he kept his expenditures down. The only way to avoid being bought out is to be independent.

In a field where the need to make money frequently restricts artistic expression, Anurag has stayed true to his beliefs and created films that speak to him. The filmmaker avoided work because he didn't want somebody to direct his actions. He would have made a lot of money today if his goal had been to make money. Yet, Anurag is content since he gets to pursue his passion.

Alaya F and newcomer Karan Mehta play the lead characters in Anurag's musical drama film Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat. The movie got its Asian premiere at the Hainan Island International Film Festival after having its world premiere at the Marrakech Film Festival in 2022. The film had its theatrical release after that, on February 3, 2023, and received mixed reviews from the critics and the audience.