Anurag Kashyap says Hindi filmmakers ignored their audience while dubbed South films took advantage: ‘Pushpa 2’s trailer was released in Patna’

Anurag Kashyap’s recent statement about Bollywood producing subpar content and films compared to South Indian movies has stirred up discussions online. He has now claimed that Hindi filmmakers ignored their core audience, leading to the survival and success of even dubbed South Indian movies in the Hindi-speaking belt.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Anurag expressed frustration over the flawed distribution strategies applied to his films.Highlighting incidents during the pandemic, Kashyap revealed that two of his acclaimed films, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur‘ and ‘Mukkabaaz‘, were not widely released in North India. He stated that studios erroneously assumed his audience was confined to metropolitan areas like Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Hyderabad, disregarding the broader North Indian region. Kashyap criticised this shortsighted decision, emphasising how such misjudgements underestimated the appeal of his work in its core demographic.

Recalling an incident, he shared how a theatre owner from Bihar had pleaded with Eros, the production house, to release one of his films in their region. However, the request was denied as the studio deemed the cost of producing an additional Digital Cinema Package (DCP) unjustifiable for that market.
Anurag explained how South Indian films, including their dubbed versions, have found significant success in North India. He attributed this trend to Bollywood’s neglect of its Hindi-speaking audience. Kashyap added that innovative strategies employed by YouTube channels, which acquired South Indian films at low costs, dubbed them into Hindi, and capitalised on this gap, nurtured a massive audience.
“We make Hindi films, but we have ignored the Hindi film audience. The advantage was taken by this man who created the YouTube channel ‘Goldmines’. He started acquiring South Indian films at cheap rates, dubbed them into Hindi, and catered to that Hindi-speaking audience. That audience grew so much that ‘Pushpa 2’s trailer was released in Patna,” he shared.
Kashyap pointed out that this same audience, which once admired Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda, and Salman Khan, now also recognises and observes South Indian film stars with equal enthusiasm.