We can’t make propaganda

A quick glance at his Twitter account will tell you that Anurag Kashyap staunchly resists narratives the establishment broadcasts, but the filmmaker says that while directing the Netflix release Choked, a film set against the backdrop of demonetisation, he didn’t let his politics interfere with his storytelling.

Q. Why do you think it has taken so long for a film to be made against the backdrop of demonetisation?

Times have changed. People are probably not expressing themselves. We got this script at the FICCI Script Bazaar in 2015. Then it was a story of a marriage: a wife who has given up on the dream and a husband who sticks to it
very arrogantly but does nothing about it. It was a beautiful premise but the X factor was missing. Then demonetisation happened and, suddenly, I felt this script will now make sense. I have strongly refrained from giving any character my political voice or forcing my opinion of demonetisation on them.

Q. Why?

A filmmaker has to be the chronicler of a time. He or she cannot make propaganda. These characters are not me, though a little bit of me can seep in. I was clear with Nihit Bhave, the screenwriter, that I want to make the film like
a Sai Paranjpe thriller. Everybody is trying to survive and dealing with money in different ways. Sarita [Saiyami Kher] has no opinion about politics or Modi. She is just tired of putting in the hours at the bank.

Q After Mukkabaaz and Manmarziyaan, Choked is now your third successive film which has been conceptualised by another screenwriter. Is that a coincidence?

I was not open to it earlier. There’s always a danger of becoming a victim of your own perception. I was falling into that trap. People thought he makes gangster films or a dark thriller. I wanted to look at other people’s stories and
interpret it with their permission and presence. All my writers are with me on set and during editing and
improvisations. I have been a writer myself, so I know how they are always put on the margin and I won’t do that.

Q The multiplexes are not pleased with filmmakers taking the straight-to-streaming release route

We have never seen something like this before and the future is very uncertain. We have to adapt to the times.
In times like these, online platforms entertain you and they need constant feeding. We, as it is, have a lot of
privileges compared to those who are actually suffering, the daily-wage earners. When a filmmaker makes that
choice, he is looking out for his larger team. I have found a much bigger audience by putting my film on Netflix.
More people have seen my film on Netflix.

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