Anurag Kashyap, disillusioned and "disgusted" by the Hindi film industry, opened up about the impact of OTT platforms on Indian cinema and how it thwarted the creative progress after heralding a positive change initially.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Anurag Kashyap complained that OTT platforms are afraid of taking risks, instead they are pushing contents which had theatrical releases. Slamming the top executives, Anurag Kashyap said they are too "comfortable" to leave their "luxuries" behind.
Anurag Kashyap told The Hollywood Reporter that streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime brought hope with their advent on the Indian entertainment market. But slowly, they lose their sheen and shine and now they are producing run-of -the-mill contents.
"But who are the people running the OTTs? They're all from TV. They have no cinema experience. They don't understand cinema. What is their only motive? Subscribers. And to increase subscriber base, they have to dumb it down," Anurag said.
"The top streamers are multinationals. They're not Indian-origin companies. They're answerable, so they're scared to take risks. In every way, it's a leash for creativity," Anurag added.
Addressing the lack of stimulative conversation with the OTT people, Anurag said, "These people have jobs with very high salaries and a lifestyle, which they don't want to lose."
Anurag went on, "There are very few people that I can even have a creative conversation with. That's why I would rather not do anything than sit down and have a conversation with someone who is trying to save their job or impose their position..."
"OTTs came in and disrupted the system. First they gave high prices, and then they lowered the prices. Now, nobody is willing to come down. Which is good, because one day, everybody will fall. And I'm waiting for everybody to fall, because then it'll be a great time to make films again.
After we hit rock-bottom, we will make films again. Golden times are coming," Anurag hoped.
Speaking of Anurag Kashyap's OTT stint, he co-directed Netflix's first original Indian series, Sacred Games alongside Vikramaditya Motwane. He later directed films in Netflix anthologies like Ghost Stories and Lust Stories.