I have not quit Bollywood; I can make Hindi films from anywhere

After 3 decades in films, Anurag Kashyap is far from pleased with how the industry has gone from being a place to tell stories, to only chasing box office numbers. So disillusioned is the filmmaker-actor with the culture in Bollywood that he’s moved lock stock and barrel out of Mumbai and found a home in the south of the country. It’s also where he has been finding work as an actor, whether it is the Tamil film, Maharaja, Rifle Club in Malayalam, Dacoit in Telugu or, now, the upcoming Kannada film 8, which brings him to Sandalwood.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the official announcement of 8, a sports drama to be directed by actor-filmmaker Sujay Shastry, Anurag said that his decision to move away from Mumbai does not affect his work in the Hindi film industry. “I have not quit Bollywood; I can make Hindi films from anywhere,” he said, adding that he wants people to focus on telling beautiful stories.

At the title launch, Anurag said, “There was a time when people put in everything to make a movie; they’d mortgage their home and put their heart and soul into the project. Now films are made by people with MBA degrees. That’s the difference of Bollywood of yore and now,” he added. “Story-telling is immensely important and cinema is a medium to tell stories. When we tell stories that have not been told before, they can be inspiring, holding a mirror to society, they can be thrilling.”

Anurag is set to begin shooting for 8 in April. While the team has not revealed details about his role, given that it is a sports drama, it would be safe to assume that he plays a coach, with Sujay stating that the life lessons that Anurag’s character imparts being the major highlight of the film.

During the launch of 8, Anurag said that the film is all about the second chances one gets in life. In his Kannada film debut, Anurag said he hoped to be as good an actor as Sujay and was glad that he was offered a role that did not require him to play a psychopath yet again.

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