Anurag Kashyap was one of the co-creators of Netflix’s first India originals, Sacred Games. OTT platforms saw a massive boom in popularity after the success of Sacred Games and the crime thriller genre also picked up. However, Anurag now feels that things are not the same anymore and OTT’s golden period is now over.
Speaking to Radio Nasha, Anurag said, “I think we are past the golden time of OTT. Now OTT is starting to turn into TV. Long-format storytelling has always had potential but now it is not dictated by quality, it is dictated by algorithm. And that’s where the problem is.” Anurag said that this also happened with TV as “TRPs started deciding what kind of television should be made.” “When shows were being on Doordarshan, they had a certain quality,” he added.
“Until the time they need new subscribers, they will experiment with new things. When they have exhausted that, then it turns into TV. This is a cycle. I have been around for 32 years now,” he said. “Now the same multiplexes will play the same film on four screens. They are not supporting the films they were initially doing. When the studios came in, they were also making new kind of films, but then they also started catering to the same formula,” Anurag also said.
“Me and Vikram (Vikramaditya Motwane) made the first Netflix India show and that kind of a sensibility and support, we will not get anymore. Because that sensibility has changed. People who have no experience in filmmaking are now running the department of shows. And they have come from television. So their sensibility is television. Any creative person will tell you that when you are dealing with them, sometimes it’s like hitting your head against a wall,” he said.
“I don’t think that the kind of long format I want to make, I will get to make it. And they are also scared. Maximum City is one of the examples. An approved green lit show, that got dropped with no official communication. They only want to do what their algorithm dictates,” he said.
Meanwhile, Anurag will be seen in Disney+ Hotstar’s new series Bad Cop, a classic cop vs villain story with a twist. Anurag recently opened up about what intrigued him about playing a character like Kazbe, who is fearful and deadly with unique quirks.
Anurag said, “I loved the idea of this guy (Kazbe) who is in prison and he’s operating from there. But he’s very emotionally attached to his family. The idea of a villain being so emotionally attached to his family is very contrasting. He may be the villain but he is not the bad guy all the time. In his head, he’s trying to do business and he’s trying to run a family and he’s having fun.”
The upcoming series is an adaptation of RTL’s German show Bad Cop: Kriminell Gut from 2017. The Indian version’s script is penned by Rensil D’Silva and directed by Aditya Datt, known for Crakk. In the series, Anurag will portray the character Kazbe, the villain, while Gulshan Devaiah takes on the role of Karan, an intense cop determined to apprehend Kazbe.
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