‘Aditya Chopra needs to empower, not dictate’: Anurag Kashyap explains why YRF films are failing

Anurag Kashyap has shared his thoughts on why he thinks more and more films are unable to strike a cord with the audience lately. Anurag gave the example of Yash Raj Film and how studio head s’s approach of dictating things to his directors has not been working out. (Also read: Anurag Kashyap says films aren’t working in South either, people have no money)

Anurag is on a promotional spree for his upcoming film Dobaaraa and giving interviews about film business, star power and the current dearth of hits in Bollywood. Anurag gave examples of YRK movies Thugs of Hindostan and Shamshera and how he blamed the ‘Trial Room effect’ for their failure.

Speaking to Galatta Plus, Anurag said, “In Bollywood, cinema is largely controlled by those people and that too second generation that has grown up in trial rooms. They have not lived life so the referencing is based on cinema. So what is not on screen can’t be cinema to them. The biggest problem with YRF is the trial room effect. You take a story and you want to make a Pirates of the Caribbean out of it, so it becomes Thugs of Hindostan. You take a story and you want to make Mad Max: Fury Road out of it, it becomes Shamshera. The same Shamshera would have worked two-three years back, at least much more than how it has worked on. Now, people are exposed to OTT.”

About studio heads who stay out of touch, he said, “You have one person sitting in a cave, who doesn’t know the world outside, dictating how everybody should be making their films and telling them what to do. Obviously, you’re digging your own grave. You have to empower people, you can’t dictate terms. That time is passe now. If Aditya Chopra has hired a bunch of people, he needs to empower them and not dictate them, not control the casting, not control everything. Sit in your office, hire good people if you trust them, and let them make their film. Which is the mistake he makes. He doesn’t let them (be).” He also praised Karan Johar for breaking out of the trap and empowering the people he has hired to make films their own way.

Anurag’s Dobaara stars Taapsee Pannu in the lead. It’s a film on time travel and will release on Friday.