The most astute political filmmaker of India is confused by the response to his latest film Anek. “I’ve never received such extreme responses to any of my films. They have either loved or hated my film. There is no middleground.”

Sinha admits the haters are a sizeable number for this film. “I have had people tell me Anek is convoluted. If they feel that way, it must be true for them. Somewhere I think Anek has failed to connect with a large enough audience. I’d love every film of mine to be commercial success. But it’s not a burning ambition for me. I am okay with failure.”

So would this astute filmmaker admit that somewhere Anek has failed? “It certainly didn’t get the response I thought it would. But I am not afraid of failure. Nor am I shackled by it. I have already moved on to my next film Bheed which is ready for release in November.”