‘It is a propaganda film…’: Anurag Kashyap talks about ‘The Kerala Story’, Sunny Leone & Rahul Bhat

New Delhi: Anurag Kashyap had a dream come true experience when his film ‘Kennedy’ premiered at the prestigious Grand Theatre Lumiere at the Cannes Film Festival 2023  and received a 7-minute long standing ovation for his work. In an interview with Hindustan Times, the filmmaker opened up about Kennedy’s cast Sunny Leone and Rahul Bhat. He also expressed his views on ‘The Kerala Story’, calling it a propaganda film.

Talking about Rahul Bhat, Kashyap said that makers do not give him ‘enough chance’. About his character, he said that Bhat was playing a deadly assassin so he trained for months to be smooth with a knife and gun. When asked about Sunny Leone, Anurag said that they staged an audition just to see if she shows up to do a small-budget film. He had earlier revealed that he saw her in an interview and knew she could be the person to play Charlie in ‘Kennedy’.

About Sunny’s past as an actor in the adult film industry, Anurag said that he sees her as a mom and she is an incredible mother. He added that it is a sad thing that people do not see beyond her past and beyond her looks. He asked people to look into her eyes to find out who Sunny is.

When asked about Sudipto Sen’s controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’, Anurag said that a filmmaker cannot escape politics today and it is tough for cinema to be non-political. While he said that he is against banning the film, he called it propaganda. He added that cinema has to be based on reality and truth and similarly the politics of a film comes from the politics of the world it is set in. On the idea of making a counter-propaganda piece, he said that he does not want to do it and added that counter-propaganda can also be dishonest.

Anurag Kashyap walked the red carpet at the French film festival with Sunny and Rahul and the team had an overwhelming experience as their film earned praise. The film is based on an insomniac cop who was presumed to be dead.