Published on

: 

31 May 2025, 8:13 am

director Laxman Utekar seems to have taken a dig at Anurag Kashyap in a recent interview where he said that no one is forcing Anurag to stay in Bollywood. In an earlier interview, Anurag had revealed that he wants to shift out of Mumbai as he is ‘disgusted by Hindi film industry’.

During a conversation with Mama’s Couch, Laxman was asked about a certain filmmaker who talked about leaving Bollywood and moving south. It was clear with the statement used by the interviewer that she was referring to Anurag. To this, Laxman replied, “Leave if you want to, nobody is forcing you to stay. You can only make movies if you are creatively happy, and there’s no point in forcing yourself if you can’t put your heart in it.”

He added, “They’re wrong when they (filmmakers) say the audience lacks the sensibilities to accept their film... in fact, it's they who lack the sensibility to accept the audience's taste. How can you say cinema is dying when movies are doing business of over Rs 1000 crore? You should change your sensibilities instead of telling the audience to change themselves.”

In an interview with The Hindu earlier this year, Anurag announced that he has left Mumbai. “I want to stay away from film people. The industry has become too toxic. Everyone is chasing unrealistic targets, trying to make the next Rs 500 or Rs 800 crore film. The creative atmosphere is gone,” he said.

Laxman’s , starring Vicky Kaushal, turned out to be the biggest hits of the year, minting Rs 807 crore at global box-office.

Meanwhile, Anurag’s last directorial,  has been continuously delayed for release. Speaking to CE recently, he had said that the film is stuck with the studio that has backed it. “They have actually gone bankrupt and don’t have the money to release the film. We are trying to figure out other avenues.”