This afternoon, Anurag Kashyap, the filmmaker, announced on his Instagram that he will now be charging for work meetings, which he believes consume a significant amount of his time without yielding much result. Expressing his frustration, he stated, “I’ve spent too much time trying to assist newcomers and often ended up with mediocre results. From now on, I don’t want to spend my time meeting random individuals who believe they’re creative geniuses.” Kashyap’s solution? Introducing a fee structure for meetings: “For a 10-15 minute meeting, the charge will be 1 lac, half an hour will be 2 lacs, and for a full hour, it will be 5 lacs.”
He accompanied his post with a caption that read, “Please don’t text, DM, or call me. Pay for your time. I am not a charity, and I am tired of people seeking shortcuts.”
On the professional front, Kashyap has been struggling, with movies made by him failing to attract audiences to the theatres. In November 2023, Kashyap revealed that he battled depression and suffered two heart attacks after Netflix, a content-streaming giant, opted out of his adaptation of Suketu Mehta’s ‘Maximum City’ following the massive public backlash against the Amazon web series Tandav in 2021 for its Hinduphobic content.
In other news, following his roles in Tamil films like Nayanthara-starrer “Imaikkaa Nodigal” and Vijay’s “Leo,” Anurag Kashyap is set to make his Malayalam debut in Ashiq Abu’s “Rifle Club.” The first schedule of the film commenced in Mundakkayam, Kottayam.
Reflecting on the success of Ranbir Kapoor’s “Animal,” Kashyap remarked, “More people were taught feminism because of Animal.”
The upcoming project boasts a cast including Dileesh Pothan, Vishnu Agasthya, Vani Viswanath, Vijayaraghavan, Vincy Aloshious, Ramzan Muhammed, Surabhi Lakshmi, and Unnimaya Prasad. There’s buzz that Kashyap will be portraying a negative role in the film. Confirming his Malayalam debut, the director shared an announcement video on social media saying, “Announcing my first Malayalam film as an actor with Ashiq Abu. Looking forward to being part of this significant moment in Malayalam cinema.”
Back in December at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), Anurag, attending the screening of his film “Kennedy,” had hinted at his Malayalam debut. “Rifle Club,” aiming for an Onam release, will have Ashiq Abu serving as the cinematographer once again.
