Anurag Kashyap’s Kantara & Pushpa Warning Coming True?

In a 2022 interview, Anurag Kashyap warned that films like Kantara and Pushpa were harming Indian cinema more than helping it. At the time, you saw outrage. Now, years later, his words feel closer to reality than many expected.

He said these films pushed every maker to chase national fame. You now see almost every project sold as pan-Indian. Even Pushpa 2 and Kantara: Chapter 1 arrived with huge noise, yet neither delivered the magic of the originals.

Today, when a South Indian film releases, you expect another Pushpa or Kantara. If it does not offer scale and spectacle, you dismiss it. Smaller films suffer because they cannot match noise, budgets or hype, no matter how honest the storytelling.

You already see the damage. Films like Alappuzha Gymkhana and Su From So bring emotion and craft. Yet you barely hear about them. They lack large posters and nationwide blitz, so they disappear without a chance to grow.

This trend did not start today. Baahubali changed cinema economics and ambition. Since then, every industry has tried to chase the same impact. You now see story take a back seat while size and shine take over the frame.

When people say Indian cinema, they still picture Bollywood first. So the South pushes pan-Indian projects to claim space. You understand the fight. But in that race, the soul of storytelling keeps slipping away.

Pushpa worked because you felt the raw world behind it. Kantara hit hard because it stayed rooted. You did not support them for scale. You backed them because they felt real.

Now Bollywood is copying the same formula. You see louder films, weaker writing and forced spectacle. Big budgets no longer excite you. You want stories that stay with you.

No producer can buy sincerity. You connect only when a film speaks honestly. That truth never comes from marketing plans. It comes from strong writing, clear vision and respect for the viewer.