Anurag Kashyap who has given a break to numerous actors, directors and technicians today finds himself fighting a lonely battle against a very serious sexual harassment case.
This writer who tried getting many of Kashyap’s protegees, associates and team members to speak met a deadend. One leading actor who shot to fame after working with Kashyap in a gangster epic even turned around to ask, “Sir honestly did he or anyone come to my defence when I was in trouble?Yahan pe sab ko apni jung apne ladni padti hai.”
Another actor who had a major role in a failed period epic that Kashyap directed told me. “I haven’t been in touch with him for three years, so I can’t comment.”
This translates as, “He hasn’t given me work in three years, so why should I care?”
A director who got his first break from Anurag Kashyap said, “I don’t want to say anything. But off the record, it is obviously a framework.”
Actors who owe their entire career to Kashyap are keeping quiet.
“This is too sensitive an issue to comment,” one such actor told me.
Really? Too sensitive to defend someone you’ve known closely?
The one actor who has spoken up in Kashyap’s defence is Taapsee Pannu who very clearly states this charge is not commensurate with the way she knows Anurag Kashyap. It takes courage to stand apart from the crowd.