Copyright news18
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has spoken candidly about his brother, Dabangg director Abhinav Kashyap, amid the latter’s long-standing controversy involving Salman Khan and his family. While Abhinav has publicly accused the Khans of sabotaging his career after the success of Dabangg (2010), Anurag chose not to comment on his brother’s allegations — instead reflecting on the stark differences between their personalities, creative philosophies, and approaches to cinema. “He Sees Cinema as Business, I See It as Art” Appearing on Game Changers, Anurag was asked whether he ever tried to help Abhinav when the filmmaker felt alienated by the industry. The Gangs of Wasseypur director replied, “He is independent-minded. He looks at cinema differently and has very different thinking. He has always been a business-minded man who understands it really well.” He further elaborated on their contrasting mindsets, saying, “Since the very beginning, he saw films like commerce, and I was a cinephile. He came here to study management. When I used to get work offers and didn’t feel like taking them, he’d say, ‘Main karvaata hoon (I’ll get it done).’ He would actually do it under my name, and I wouldn’t even realize it.” Anurag’s remarks come in the wake of Abhinav’s renewed criticism of Salman Khan, whom he has accused of mistreating him during the making of Dabangg and allegedly removing him from its sequel via text message. Abhinav Kashyap on His Bond and Rift with Anurag In a previous interview with Bollywood Thikana, Abhinav opened up about his relationship with Anurag, revealing that while they share a deep bond, disagreements have caused distance. “We grew up together — same school, same college, came to Mumbai around the same time. We know each other better than even our parents do. We argue often. He’s older and has even raised his hand on me,” Abhinav said, adding that they are currently not on talking terms. Abhinav on Career Setbacks and Lessons from Failure The Besharam director also spoke about the professional challenges he faced after Bombay Velvet (2016) flopped. “After Bombay Velvet, I asked my producing partners — if I didn’t reveal the script or star cast, how much would they give me? They said ₹3.5 crore. So, from ₹90 crore, I came straight down to ₹3.5 crore because I didn’t want to get stuck in a loop,” he told Komal Nahta on Game Changers. Reflecting on how failure shapes filmmakers, Abhinav added, “I’ve seen many directors, including my own brother — once you make a big film and the next one fails, you spend your life trying to prove that you can make another big one. I didn’t want to fall into that trap.” Despite their creative differences, both Kashyap brothers continue to shape Indian cinema in their own distinct ways — one driven by commerce, the other by conviction.
