In an interview with a news channel, Anurag Kashyap had alleged that Kangana had made unreasonable demands to take up ‘Saand Ki Aankh’. A day later, a fan reminded Kashyap how Ranaut had always backed him

By Anannya Srusti

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and actress Kangana Ranaut have been engaging in a war of words over media and social media post the ‘Panga’ (2020) actress’ interview with Republic TV.  In a recent interview with NDTV, Kashyap had claimed that Kangana laid down a couple of bizarre conditions to do ‘Saand Ki Aankh’ (2019) when she was first offered the film

“When Saand Ki Aankh script was pitched by Tushar to Kangana, she said the story is great but what is the need for two characters? Make them one and young and I will do it”, the controversial filmmaker told NDTV. 

Even after being involved in a Twitter-war with the actress, Kashyap took to his Twitter handle on Thursday (23 July) saying that Ranaut always stood by him. The post read, “Absolutely she did . She always stood by me . I am not her enemy . You all are . The people who are using her are .”

Absolutely she did . She always stood by me . I am not her enemy . You all are . The people who are using her are . https://t.co/SsM4tsUbEs

— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) July 23, 2020

Kashyap’s post came after a netizen posted a video of Kangana and the late actor Irrfan Khan where Kangana is seen backing Anurag Kashyap when his ‘Bombay Velvet’ (2015) turned out to be a dud.

“This is how #KanganaRanaut defended you @anuragkashyap72 after Bombay Velvet’s failure. But you were digging her 9-10 year old videos to prove her wrong. @KanganaTeam @KanganaDaily”, a fan pointed out,

Another fan tagged Kashyap in the below post.

This is how #KanganaRanaut defended you @anuragkashyap72 after Bombay Velvet's failure. But you were digging her 9-10 year old videos to prove her wrong.@KanganaTeam @KanganaDaily pic.twitter.com/oNEMfm3uHs

— Insaaf Ke Sipahi (@Insaaf_KeSipahi) July 23, 2020

We tried contacting ‘Sandh Ki Aankh’ (2019) director Tushar Hiranandani and Kangana’s team, but the efforts didn’t yield any reply.  Efforts to reach out  to Kashyap, too, didn’t elicit any response.

It must be recalled that prior to the release of Saand Ki Aankh, Ranaut had spoken about being offered Saand Ki Aankh but she had refused the film citing that the leading roles of Chandro Tomar and Prakashi Tomar were best suited for veteran actresses. The sister-in-laws had shot to fame after they took up the sport of shooting in their 60s.  Ranaut had opined that the likes of Shabana Azmi and Neena Gupta were apt for the roles.  Ranaut’s comments triggered an ageism debate, where Bollywood was accused of not following a horses-for-courses policy. 

While we didn’t get any response from Ranaut, perhaps it would be unfair to criticise Ranaut’s alleged conditions as unreasonable. Maybe, the Panga [2020] actress felt this was a better way of turning it down. 

While Saand Ki Aankh wasn’t a commercial success, it won wide critical acclaim for the leading cast – Bhumi Pednekar and Taapsee Pannu who were nominated for various awards.  Saand Ki Aankh was produced and distributed by Reliance Entertainment.