Kashyap means business

Anurag Kashyap?s Paanch had the censors fuming over the abusive language, violence and drug content in the film.

You don’t miss the signs of relief on Anurag Kashyap’s face. His debut directorial feature, Paanch, after all, has gotten over the labour pains of censorship hassles – almost two years of it, in fact – and is finally scheduled to release on Independence Day.

"The extended delay in the film's release did leave me frustrated initially. But it had its plus points too. For one, fighting the censors taught me patience and that made me a more mature individual. I've learnt to be objective during the whole episode. And yes, I realised I was not alone. So many people – some of whom aren’t even associated with the film – have rallied for Paanch," says the filmmaker, whose debut venture made the censors see red owing to explicit violence, drug content and abusive language.

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But Anurag won’t be cowed down. His no-nonsense, gritty cinematic idiom continues into his next two films, Allwyn Kallicharan and Gulaal. "I can't stop making the films I believe in. That way, I'd be dishonest to myself," he says. Perhaps, his uncompromising stand as a filmmaker is the reason why Gulaal has been postponed for now due to lack of funds. "I'm sure we'll find a way to complete the film," he says confidently.

Anurag showers praise on Anil Kapoor, his hero in Allwyn Kallicharan. "Despite his experience, he took to the script like a hungry newcomer. And he made it a point to attend every workshop that I had set up for the greenhorns in the cast," he says. The film, he says is about an honest cop (played by Kapoor), set sometime in the future. "It's realistic and at one level it's also a fantasy," he adds about Allwyn Kallicharan.

Tell him that from co-scripting (with Saurabh Shukla) in Satya to directing Paanch, Allwyn Kallicharan or Gulaal, he has presented a rather serious image for himself, and Anurag laughs. "I guess I can't be a light person. To make a light film (his idea of an ideal one is Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron), you need to look at the gravest issues with humour and, believe me, that’s tough," says Anurag.

Not surprising then, when you ask him to name his favourite film he replies: "The whole body of work of Martin Scorsese."