From gritty gang wars of Gangs of Wasseypur to the neo-noir nihilism of Kennedy, these are the Anurag Kashyap films that cemented him as Hindi cinema’s ultimate rebel filmmaker.
Key Points
- Anurag Kashyap’s new film Bandar, starring Bobby Deol, Sanya Malhotra and Sapna Pabbi is set to release on June 5.
- Anurag is known for his unconventional storytelling, risk-taking, and films that often challenge mainstream sensibilities.
- Anurag has never been the kind of filmmaker to shy away from risks, even if that means some of his films remain stuck in limbo for years.
No matter how many times he claims to be done with Bollywood, Anurag Kashyap can never quite get Hindi cinema out of his system.
Proof?
His latest film, Bandar, arrives in theatres on June 5.
In the film, Bobby Deol plays the lead as a middle-aged celebrity embroiled in an alleged sexual assault case, who ends up behind bars.
The film boasts an intriguing ensemble featuring talents from not just Bollywood, like Sanya Malhotra, Sapna Pabbi and Saba Azad, but also Marathi cinema’s Jitendra Joshi, Kannada cinema’s Raj B Shetty and Malayalam actor Indrajith Sukumaran.
Having already earned acclaim during its screening at the Toronto international film festival, it will be fascinating to see how Kashyap navigates a subject as tricky as the #MeToo movement in Bandar while also examining those who exploit it for personal agendas.
Then again, if you know Anurag Kashyap’s cinema, you know he has never been the kind of filmmaker to shy away from risks, even if that means some of his films remain stuck in limbo for years.
For cinephiles, Kashyap has always remained a figure of fascination. He has delivered masterpieces that refuse to bend to conventional storytelling. Even some of his ‘failures’ continue to inspire fierce debate among fans who still argue whether films like No Smoking and Bombay Velvet were misunderstood rather than outright misfires.
Despite his fiercely non-mainstream instincts, he still surprises viewers with unexpected genre detours, from the animated Return of Hanuman to the sci-fi thriller Dobaaraa.
With all that in mind, Sreeju Sudhakaran picks his 10 favourite Anurag Kashyap films (feature-length movies, not shorts) and ranks them from good to spectacularly awesome.
10. Nishaanchi Part I and II (2025)
The biggest issue with the Nishaanchi duology is that it would probably have worked better either as a single tightly edited film or, even more suitably, as a mini-series.
Releasing the first part theatrically without informing beforehand audiences that a second instalment was on the way, only to dump the follow-up unceremoniously on OTT, felt unfair to the material and the performances within it.
The plot itself is predictable and its wannabe tendency to reflect a Gangs of Wasseypur vibe cannot be ignored. But what elevates Nishaanchi is Kashyap’s ability to generate credible emotional drama between the characters, making the revenge saga genuinely compelling.
The film particularly succeeds in charting the tragic highs and lows of Babloo Nishaanchi and the inevitability of his downfall.
Debutant Aaishvary Thackeray is superb in dual roles as the boisterous Babloo and his timid twin Dabloo. The supporting cast, including Monika Panwar, Vedika Pinto, Kumud Mishra and Vineet Kumar Singh, are just as good.
9. Mukkabaaz (2018)
Among the many talents Kashyap helped push into the spotlight, Vineet Kumar Singh remains one of the most under-rated. So it was satisfying to see the filmmaker give him complete room to shine in Mukkabaaz, a sports drama wrapped around a star-crossed love story.
Because this is an Anurag Kashyap film, there is also a strong current of social commentary running beneath the narrative, particularly regarding the caste politics infecting sports institutions in the country.
Vineet is terrific as the talented boxer fighting both the system and his own limitations, while Zoya Hussain impresses as the mute upper-caste girl he falls in love with.
Jimmy Shergill and Ravi Kishan are also excellent in crucial supporting roles.
The film occasionally veers into melodrama and its bleak ending may frustrate viewers expecting conventional sporting triumph because Kashyap insists that reality rarely offers fairy-tale conclusions.
8. That Girl in Yellow Boots (2011)
Speaking of bleakness, That Girl in Yellow Boots is the kind of film that makes you cringe in a deliberate manner with its edgy storytelling.
Kalki Koechlin plays an Anglo-Indian woman working at a massage parlour in Mumbai that discreetly offers ‘happy endings’ to its male customers, while simultaneously searching for the father she barely remembers.
Despite its stark subject matter, the film is laced with biting black humour. The cast is uniformly excellent, especially Gulshan Devaiah as the gangster Chittappa.
Kashyap cleverly toys with viewers through multiple red herrings regarding the identity of the heroine’s father, before culminating in a revelation so disturbing that you wish you could have unseen and unheard what gets transpired on screen.
7. Kennedy (2023)
Kennedy felt like vintage Anurag Kashyap returning to form.
Not only is it a well-crafted film arriving after a few uneven efforts from the director, it also carries the familiar baggage of his best works: Upsetting powerful people and struggling to secure mainstream distribution.
This neo-noir slow-burn thriller stars the severely underrated Rahul Bhat as a former cop turned assassin who moonlights as a driver-for-hire while living with the ghosts of his sins. Literally.
As his corrupt superior manipulates Kennedy into carrying out killings, Kashyap uses his protagonist’s daily procedures to take sharp jabs at class divides, billionaire culture and systemic rot, all while threading the film with dark humour and some masterful staging.
The one major drawback is the stunt casting of Sunny Leone in a pivotal role that demands more dramatic heft than she can consistently deliver.
Otherwise, Kennedy is Kashyap operating close to his peak again.
6. Paanch (2003)
Paanch was a warning sign of how Kashyap’s relationship with the system and cinema would evolve.
Plagued by censorship troubles and denied a proper release, the film could only be accessed through piracy, something the filmmaker himself had sadly accepted and encouraged later on.
And yet, if you managed to watch it, you witnessed the raw fury of a moviemaker bringing something startlingly original.
The film follows a struggling band spiraling into violence, drugs and greed, and it is powered by ferocious performances from Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastava, Tejaswini Kolhapure and Vijay Maurya.
The violence that troubled the censor board then feels comparatively tame today, which says more about how much mainstream cinema has changed since. Though we cannot say the same about the workings of the board, though.
5. Gulaal (2009)
2009 was a landmark year for Kashyap as he delivered two back-to-back great movies, and what’s more, thanks to a common Easter Egg, they also seem to be set in the same universe.
Gulaal was initially overshadowed by the other (the film mentioned two spots ahead in this list), but over the years, it has gained the cult admiration it deserves.
The political drama channels Kashyap’s rage against caste hierarchies and corrupt power structures infecting educational institutions and youth politics that transforms innocents into either victims or oppressors, sometimes both.
The film is packed with disturbing sequences, especially the ragging scenes, and populated with deeply flawed characters constantly manipulating one another in pursuit of power.
While Raj Singh Chaudhary is slightly uneven in the lead role, the supporting cast, including Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastava, Abhimanyu Singh, Deepak Dobriyal and Piyush Mishra, are phenomenal.
4. Ugly (2014)
Ugly may revolve around the disappearance of a little girl, but at its core it is about selfish people exploiting a tragedy for their own gain, including members of the child’s family.
It is a tightly written and brilliantly directed thriller where the investigation remains gripping throughout, but what truly makes the film sting is Kashyap’s brutal understanding of human selfishness.
Ironically, the girl’s stepfather, usually the easiest figure to vilify in stories like these, turns out to be the one person most involved to find her.
The cast is magnificent, especially Rahul Bhat, Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Vineet Kumar Singh and Girish Kulkarni. Also watch out for a blink-and-miss appearance from Alia Bhatt.
3. Dev D (2009)
With due respect to the purists, especially admirers of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s lavishly mounted version, Kashyap arguably delivered the finest adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s classic novel through Dev D.
Reimagined through a modern lens and inspired partly by real-life incidents, Dev D injects sharp black humour into the story of a selfish, emotionally stunted man incapable of taking responsibility for his life.
Abhay Deol is perfectly cast as Dev, while Mahie Gill and Kalki Koechlin deliver breakthrough performances as Paro and Chanda respectively.
The cinematography and editing give the film a stylish kinetic visual energy, while Amit Trivedi’s soundtrack still remains iconic with zingy tracks like Emosanal Attyachar, Nayan Tarse and Pardesi.
2. Gangs of Wasseypur Part I and II (2012)
Gangs of Wasseypur is the kind of sprawling cinematic epic that define a filmmaker’s career for ages, like how The Godfather defines Francis Ford Coppola’s body of work.
Kashyap’s ambitious two-part saga chronicles the rise and decay of a crime-ridden family across three generations while simultaneously tracing India’s own social and political transformations.
The films are overflowing with cult characters, memorable dialogues, brilliantly structured arcs and unforgettable sequences, while wearing its influences of The Godfather and Once Upon A Time In America (among others) with pride. Honestly, a sizeable chunk of Bollywood meme culture owes its existence to both GOW movies.
And what a cast Kashyap assembled here! Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Richa Chadha, Huma Qureshi, Reema Sen, Jaideep Ahlawat, Vineet Kumar Singh, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Pankaj Tripathi, Vipin Sharma and Rajkummar Rao, among others, are all outstanding in their respective parts.
1. Black Friday (2004)
Black Friday is not just one of the finest docudramas to emerge from Indian cinema this century, it is one of the finest ever made.
Keh diya, bas, keh diya.
Based on S Hussain Zaidi’s book on the infamous 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, the film delivers a sprawling, detailed and deeply humane retelling of the events leading up to, during and after the tragedy that killed hundreds.
Using real names of people involved, a decision that repeatedly delayed the film’s release, Kashyap approaches every character with remarkable sincerity and restraint.
Rather than sensationalising the horror, he exposes the systemic failures and social fractures that paved the way for disaster.
Every role, major or minor, is treated with equal importance, and the performances are extraordinary throughout. Kay Kay Menon is superb as Rakesh Maria IPS, while Pavan Malhotra and Aditya Srivastava are equally powerful as Tiger Memon and Badshah Khan respectively.
The film also became a breeding ground for future stars, featuring early appearances from Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Gajraj Rao, Dibyendu Bhattacharya and even filmmaker Imtiaz Ali in his lone acting role.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
