The Good, the Bad and the Films

The Good, the Bad and the Films Anurag Kashyap 3.0

Cinephiles today have a lot to thank Anurag Kashyap for — from making us question the system with films like Black Friday and freeing the hero and heroine from the straitjacket sexual timidity with Dev.D, to producing cinematic masterpieces like The Lunchbox. You can always expect Anurag’s films to take the audience to places on the map they’d never even heard of before. 

We are eager to see what he gives us this time, with his third avatar, Good Bad Films — Anurag’s new production house after Anurag Kashyap Films and the now dissolved, Phantom Films. Its first release is Choked, a story of a cash-strapped, frustrated bank cashier Sarita Pillai, who finds a surprise stash of cash flowing out of her kitchen sink every midnight. As the film releases on Netflix this Friday, we connected with the maverick director to know more about his new venture, new film and the new normal, post the pandemic. 

Lust Stories, Ghost Stories and Sacred Games later, what is it about the OTT platforms that excites you?
The biggest thing for me is that ever since I started making films, people have been telling me that your cinema is not family cinema. This was when I started and now, finally, I have managed to reach out to the audience that likes my work and it's the working audience that finds a convenient time to watch what I want to make or create...at their own time. It has made a big change. Also, the exciting thing about the web is you tell the story in its own time. It allows you to spend more time with the characters — tell the back stories and how their lives move. It’s like writing a novel. It’s beautiful that way. In fact, I feel web-series is like literature. Cinema is short films and web series is what you want to spend time on, explore and drown into.  

Is directing a feature film for the web different from directing one for the big screen? Is it more challenging?
Not at all. I shoot my films like a movie. There's also this quality check that you have with Netflix where things have to be of cinema-quality. There's a quality that's maintained, and since I like to shoot it as a movie, I don’t think where or how it's going to land. This is my craft. We also like to see it like a film, where anybody watches it is upto them, but I don't see a difference. I actually find it much more intimate to watch films like this. 

What inspired Choked?
It was always the script. This was the first time a script was actually acquired at the FICCI Frames Script Bazaar, where Nihit Bhave was pitching it. It was picked up by Neha, who was working with Phantom at the time and the script was brought to me. This was the first time I was excited to do a film that totally came from outside. The film was picked up in 2015 but we made it last year, and in between demonetisation happened, which kind of seeped into the context of the film. 

The Good, the Bad and the Films A film still from Choked

A film still from Choked

How did you decide upon your cast and team?
It always starts from the script. We knew that we wanted a Maharashtrian middle-class woman and I had met Saiyami after having done Mirzya. She's from Nasik and she's very Maharashtrian, but the only thing was that she was too young and too fit. The character was a mother to a 10-year-old. So she had to put on weight for the film. So this was the second time after Richa Chaddha played mother to Nawazuddin in Gangs of Wasseypur, we had Saiyami playing mother, who is at least 32-35. So we first got Saiyami. 

Then I wanted somebody from outside — initially we were looking for a musician from Karnataka. I wanted Raghu Dixit, but he was too shy to act. I couldn't find another actor until I saw Moothon (by Geetu Mohandas) and Roshan (Mathew) in it. I thought that he's perfect for the role. He had to work on his music a little bit though but he managed well. The idea was that the characters have come to Bombay to chase their dreams — one of them has given up but the other is still arrogantly striving.  

Why Good Bad Films? And what kind of films do you hope to support through this production house?
I am just hoping to make films honestly. I don't have major studio plans or any expansion plans. Good Bad Films for me is a convenient place, like a safe place. I don't want the pressure of having to run a big studio wherein a lot of choices are based on survival, rather than what we want to do. Now I feel much more freer, as I don't have anyone telling me what to do and what not to. So I hope to explore things other than thrillers, gangsters, etc. 

What inspires you to keep creating films — tell me about the love you have for this craft.
I am inspired by everything around me. I'm very socially and politically aware. I'm constantly looking out for stories. I see myself as a storyteller first. There's a big difference between being a good writer and being a good storyteller — I see myself as a good storyteller and I have been collaborating with a lot of people from outside because sometimes, you limit yourself by the way you see the world. So you need to bring in the outside perspective. Like for making Choked our inspiration was films like Abhiman and Lunchbox. That's where Choked comes from. 

The Good, the Bad and the Films A film still from Choked

A film still from Choked

How has the pandemic affected you?
It's driving me crazy. I have so many ideas in my head right now, but this is the first time we are dealing with something like this, and nobody has answers. We all are looking at the sky, hoping for somebody to give us answers, to tell us how to deal with it. Sometimes I find it very difficult to stay locked in. Sometimes it is rewarding because you get to spend time with yourself, but again, you need to get out. I'm dealing with it like everybody else. I had a phase where one month I was cooking everyday, but now I'm tired of it. So I have some friends who send me food. Half a day goes in thinking what's for lunch and what's for dinner. Rest of the time goes in exercising. Everyday there is a fight regarding not to wake up late and follow a routine. So yes, lots of things. Then there are other things that affect you — you see how the world is divided. Everybody is looking at their head of states to give them guidance. The big difference is, some leaders are self-preserving and others have an intention to do their bit. 

What do you think will be the new normal for the film industry once things are back on track? How will it function?
I have no idea. I think what will definitely happen is that the people with strong content will find a way to survive and they will find a way to adapt. Cinemas will open sometime in the future. There will be an audience. We don't know how will they open, will they open in phases, will all the seats be sold. However, the thing is that one has to keep feeding the content chain. You have to keep telling your stories — there will be documentaries, documents, notes, diaries during the pandemic. People will be watching it, interacting with it. We are social animals, we can't stop ourselves from socialising, and we need entertainment, we need music, we need humour. So people will keep creating content, how we channel it, how we put it out there will depend on the situation. I really wish I could see into the future and tell you what the answer is. 

Text Hansika Lohani Mehtani

The Good, the Bad and the Films A film still from Choked

A film still from Choked