Published on: Sept 23, 2025 06:07 am IST
In a recent interview, Anurag Kashyap spoke of how he bumped into Basil Joseph at an awards ceremony recently. Here’s what he said.
It’s no secret that filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has moved away from Bollywood recently and has ventured into other film industries in the South as an actor. In an interview with Chalchitra Talks, he recalled bumping into Malayalam actor-filmmaker Basil Joseph, who wanted to make Shaktimaan, at an award show. He says Basil told him he ‘wasted’ two years in Bollywood over the superhero film. Here’s what he said. (Also Read: Anurag Kashyap says Bollywood isn’t united; feels happy at others’ misfortune: ‘Khush hote hai uski film flop ho gayi’)
Anurag Kashyap on Basil Joseph ‘wasting’ time in Bollywood
In 2021, when Basil directed the Tovino Thomas-starrer Minnal Murali in Malayalam, he was touted to be the next big thing. There was a buzz about him venturing into Hindi with the on-screen adaptation of the hit TV show Shaktimaan, with Ranveer Singh playing the lead. However, four years later, the project seems to have been put on ice.
Anurag revealed in the interview that Basil spoke to him about the project. Praising him for his work, he said, “I met Basil Joseph recently because I went to the Malayali Manorama awards. He has done such good acting…I’ve never seen such a good common man hero protagonist, antagonist, whatever roles. I asked him, how do you do it? You acted in Ponman, directed Minnal Murali. He told me, I wasted two years of my life trying to do Shaktimaan.”
The filmmaker-actor claimed that Basil also told stories of the egos he had to battle in Bollywood, asking Anurag how he even survives here. “God, how do you survive in that industry (Bollywood)? He just exactly said what I feel here. I said I can’t, that’s why I moved away. That man wasted two years here. He was telling stories of people’s egos while laughing. He said, what kind of industry is that?”
Recent work
This year, Basil starred in Pravinkoodu Shappu, Ponman, and Maranamass, apart from playing a cameo in Mohanlal’s Hridayapoorvam. He will soon star in Sudha Kongara’s Tamil film Parasakthi with Sivakarthikeyan, Ravi Mohan, Atharvaa and Sreeleela. Anurag’s Nishaanchi was released in theatres on 19 September. His film Bandar with Bobby Deol is yet to be released. As an actor, he last starred in the Malayalam film Rifle Club. He will soon star in the Telugu film Dacoit and the Tamil film One 2 One.
