Anurag's No Smoking

"I will always make my kind of films..." --- Anurag Kashyap to Amul Sharma, Midday, Mumbai, 2nd November 2007 There's no biz like show biz, only if you are here to be part of the melee - the grand marquee, bustle of a meat shop! Anurag is upset with a lot of people...unflattering criticism, a box office failure of a film, most of all with himself. He wants to make his kind of fillms...the question is will he continue to make such films. I don't think the delimma finds its sole victim in Anurag. He's lucky he's made few of them. No mean feat. It's not all about destiny. His inherent talent for good stories and knack for aesthete have enabled him to carve out a niche. A lot of people respect him, peers, friends, juornos and aspiring filmmakers, and that for a good reason. It is going to be difficult to make another film, especially fo the dark brooding equivocal and 'self-loathing' kind. After three films that came and went, it is not going to be easy. He won't give up, that's a good thing. At least a lot of people got to see Black Friday. I didn't really like the film. That doesn't matter a great deal. What matters is that Anurag has won a lot of fans in people who are trapped in the middle of a choc-a-bloc first class bogey of a local train in Mumbai. There's no comfort. Pressure is from all sides. A little air for a minute would be a breeze from heaven. Only solace is that the man who's got his leg stuck between your thighs is wearing expensive cologne. Coming back to No Smoking's failure critics and Anurag and good for nothing journalists. Amul Sharma has managed to butter Anurag's bruised ego: the result is an acerbic diatribe against Taran, Khalid and KARAN JOHAR. I can understand Anurag's problem with Taran and Khalid, both have made a living out of scavanging dead meat out of dead films and dying celebrities. Comprehending Anurag's grudge for Karan is difficult. I'll admit I do not understand the context here, however I'll quote Anurag, so that things can be placed in their right perspective. Anurag says aboutt Karan and his coffee show, "It's a secret complex of a child who never had that sense of power when he was back in boarding school." [I would agree with his analysis :)] Amul needles him "Karan thinks you need a psychiatrist" Anurag, "When Karan says that I need a psychiatrist, maybe I do but I think he needs one too. His whole life is about hanging on to people to find his own recognition; he hungers for fame, which is a fact... Karan asks how I can criticise legends like Yash Chopra. I have never criticised Yash Chopra, I have always criticised Yash Raj Films and the kind of cinema they represent today, not earlier. You see he has to attach Yash Chopra’s name because his own name will not have the validity when you talk about cinema. That’s because he doesn’t have much to talk about cinema, he has lots to talk in terms of box-office success, he is a superhit, and he is the biggest blockbuster in the country. Yash Johar was probably the finest production man in the industry, but with three successful films, Karan doesn’t become Yash Johar or even a Yash Chopra. He has lost weight but in his mind, he is still that fat kid who needs all the attention he can get. In my mind, I am the kid who was abused." My sypathies are with him. He comes from Delhi and I can't help being partial towards him. I aspired to be a filmmaker when I was a college-going-kid. I just wish he is able to focus more on Cinema more than people who will contribute nothing to his craft. Wishing you loads of luck, Anurag!