‘Our cinema is so pink that my realism looks dark’

Film-maker Anurag Kashyap is back on screen with his next project — Mukkabaaz — a film that received a standing ovation at the Mumbai film festival. Anurag, who is visibly excited about this film says that, this is one of his happiest films. Vineet Kumar Singh, Jimmy Sheirgill and Zoya Hussain have acted in this sociopolitical love story.

Talking about how he stumbled upon the film, Anurag says, “Vineet got me the script and I loved the core idea. I then improvised and added things. So, I told him that if he wanted me to make this film, he had to become a boxer. He took it very seriously and came back after becoming a boxer. It was unbelievable. I was under pressure then that I had to make the film (laughs)”.

While he is known to lean towards dark and intense films, Anurag doesn’t agree with this notion. “I try to keep my films real. Our cinema is so pink that my realism looks dark. Comparatively, my films seem dark but I don’t think that’s true. Mukkabaaz is a happy film”, he says.

Though the film deals with the life of a boxer, the film at its core is a love story says Anurag. “It is not sports film. It’s a love story. For me, it’s like the true Indian cinema that we used to watch — sociopolitical films that would also have songs and romance and a core issue that would be addressed — it’s very close to ground. It’s an attempt to go back there [to that era]. It’s my attempt to be a low-budget Rajkumar Hirani. I have seen consciously how Raju makes his films. He picks serious subjects and the way he tells their story, really affects you when you watch it. It is my attempt to make films like that,” he says.

His 2015 magnum opus, Bombay Velvet bombed at the box office but Anurag is far from disillusioned. In fact, he is looking forward to his new slate of projects. “I take each film as it comes. And I will never say never. Right now, I am excited by lots of ideas including Manmarziyan. I need to have fun with what I am doing. And I will do it in whatever situation or circumstances I am put in. Some films will get me budget, but some won’t. And some films will not get me several other things but as long as I am getting my freedom to make films, I will keep making them,” says the film-maker.

Anurag Kashyap’s latest directorial is Mukkabaaz