EntertainmentPosted at: Feb 16 2026 10:00PM


Independent cinema has no option in India: Anurag Kashyap

Mumbai, Feb 16 (UNI) Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is dejected as though the 2025 September calendar for Indian independent cinema looked sunny with five new titles finding their way to theatres, yet independent movies continue to suffer and struggle dying a slow death in the world of pomp.
The five films which were released last September were "Homebound", "Sabar Bonda", "Jugnama", "Bad Girl" and "Humans in the Loop"
Kashyap has articulated this concern, arguing, "Independent cinema has no option in India."
Sitting down with The Hollywood Reporter India, he observes: “Each of the five filmmakers did not talk about the other four. In our time, it was not like that."
Belonging to the late 90's and early 2000's era of directors, the independent films flourished without the institutional backing of major studios or expansive marketing budgets; the cinema relied heavily on organic endorsement and community-driven momentum.
"It’s a very simple thing: I love cinema, I love people who love cinema," he says. For Kashyap, that love has meant backing his peers, publicly and privately.
The candid exchanges, spirited debates, and creative solidarity that once defined the movement, he suggests, have gradually eroded. Without that collective spirit, each film is left to fend for itself in an already crowded marketplace.
The convergence of five indie films could have sparked a wider cultural conversation and reaffirmed the vitality of alternative storytelling in India. Instead, the director says, each operated in its own silo. UNI NST SSP
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