Ugly | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Anurag Kashyap |
Written by | Anurag Kashyap |
Produced by | Arun Rangachari Vivek Rangachari Anurag Kashyap Madhu Mantena Vikas Bahl Vikramaditya Motwane |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Nikos Andritsakis |
Edited by | Aarti Bajaj |
Music by | Songs: G. V. Prakash Kumar Score: Brian McOmber |
Production company | |
Distributed by | DAR Motion Pictures Magic Cloud Media & Entertainment (International) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 126 minutes [1] |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Budget | ₹4.5 crore [2] |
Box office | ₹6.24 crore [3] |
Ugly is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language thriller film written, co-produced and directed by Anurag Kashyap. Jointly produced by Phantom Films and DAR Motion Pictures, the film stars Rahul Bhat, Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Vineet Kumar Singh, Girish Kulkarni, Surveen Chawla and Anshika Shrivastava in the lead roles. It also features TV actor Abir Goswami in his last film appearance before his death in 2013. Told in the course of a week, Ugly follows the story of a struggling actor Rahul Varshney (Bhat), whose daughter Kali (Shrivastava) disappears, and the events that follow.
Kashyap had the idea for the film since 2006 and started writing the script after talking to one of his friends, who was in the Special Task Force, Lucknow, about kidnapping cases. He chose actors who could connect with the characters in the film. The film's background score and music were composed by Brian McOmber and G. V. Prakash Kumar respectively, while Gaurav Solanki wrote the lyrics. Nikos Andritsakis served as the film's cinematographer and Aarti Bajaj was its editor.
Ugly premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. It was also screened at the 2014 New York Indian Film Festival, the third Ladakh International Film Festival and the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. The digital poster of the film was released on 8 May 2013. The circumstances that led to the birth of Kali were separately made as short film, titled Kali Katha, and was released in YouTube on 23 December 2014. The film was theatrically released on 26 December 2014 after a two-year delay due to Kashyap's refusal to carry static anti-smoking warnings in the film. He had filed a case in court, but ultimately lost it. Upon release, the film received critical acclaim and was a commercial success, grossing over ₹6.24 crore (US$750,000) worldwide.
Shalini (Tejaswini Kolhapure) is a depressed housewife who attempts suicide, but is interrupted by her ten-year-old daughter from her first marriage, Kali. Shalini calls her husband DCP (Detection) Shoumik Bose (Ronit Roy), asking for money but he refuses. Her brother Siddhant (Siddhant Kapoor) tries to convince Bose to smuggle iPhones. Rahul (Rahul Bhat), Shalini's first husband and Kali's biological father, takes Kali to a work assignment, where she chooses to stay in the car. While Rahul is waiting for his casting director, a toy seller tries to catch Kali's attention with children's masks. Chaitanya (Vineet Singh) soon arrives and gives Rahul a film script and informs him that Kali was not in his car. The duo rush back and find her missing. Chaitanya asks the toy-seller about Kali and notices that he has her phone. The man tries to get away but is eventually killed by a car while being chased by the two. They later go to the police station to report Kali's disappearance. The local police inspector Jadhav asks Rahul why he was travelling with his daughter. Rahul says that since his divorce, he can only meet Kali on Saturdays. Two officers find the mask seller's house and ask his aunt about Kali, but she claims to know nothing.
Bose taps Shalini's phone and listens to her conversation with Rakhee (Surveen Chawla), a B-grade film actress. After being informed of his step daughter's kidnapping, he arrives at the station and beats Chaitanya. Bose accuses Rahul of the kidnapping and shows him the recording of Rahul and Shalini's conversation where she did not want Kali to meet him. Bose later reminds him of their college days when he used to bully him. Disguising his voice, Chaitanya calls Rahul and demands ransom. The call is received by Bose instead. Chaitanya also informs his agent to conduct an audition of ten-year-old girls to re-create dialogues for a ransom call. Next day, Jadhav follows Chaitanya into his office, where the police tap his phone and find out that he is in debt. He is arrested on suspicion of kidnapping Kali. Rahul escapes from the police captivity after a doctor arrives for his check-up. Later, Bose overhears one of Shalini's conversations, in which she explains how Rahul used to beat her after marriage and how she met Bose after filing a complaint. Jadhav interrogates Chaitanya who says that he had called for ransom because Bose was more interested in his personal grudge with Rahul than the kidnapping. Rahul tells Bose that Chaitanya could have not kidnapped Kali since he is aware of Rahul's lack of funds. The police expand their search operation.
Chaitanya uses a girl's audition to demand ransom from Rahul. Rahul, who is at Rakhee's place, tells Chaitanya about the call, which is tapped by the police. Chaitanya tells him to talk to Bose, who can arrange the money. Later, Rakhee urges Shalini to pay the ransom. Chaitanya is subsequently arrested by the police, and Rahul, who escapes, is later arrested after he tries to rob a jewelry store. Rakhee calls Rahul, and using the same recorded voice, demands ransom. Siddhant also makes a ransom call of ₹50 lakh (US$60,000) to Shalini, who asks her father for ₹65 lakh (US$78,000). She asks Rakhee to hide the ₹15 lakh (US$18,000) and delivers the rest. Rakhee eventually flees, stealing the money. Bose asks her about the money, but she does not answer and shoots him in the shoulder. Siddhant is then arrested with the money. Jadhav tells Rahul to deliver the money to the kidnapper but Chaitanya evades police interception and throws away his phone. Rahul, Chaitanya and Rakhee now have the money and Rahul calls Bose to taunt him. Realizing that Bose is unaware of Kali's whereabouts, Rahul murders Chaitanya, whilst Rakhee quietly leaves with the money. The police revisit the marketplace and talk to a woman who knew the toy seller, and find out that they have a history of abducting children. The woman finally leads the police to Kali inside the sidecar of a bike, where she is found dead. The police discover that she had been kidnapped by the toy-seller, who had previously died in the chase.
Director Anurag Kashyap said in an interview that the genesis of Ugly started from his own broken marriage and the relationship with his daughter. He mentioned that his guilt of not spending enough time with her when he was an alcoholic also shaped the film. [4] [5] He stated that the first ten minutes of the film stems from his personal experiences. [4] He had been working on its script since 2006. [6] Later, Kashyap met his friend Amit Pathak, who was the head of Special Task Force in Lucknow and talked to him about real life kidnapping cases and how they were tackled. [5] He also explained the whole "logic" of such kidnapping cases and how they function. [5] The shocking thing for Kashyap to know from him was that in eighty five percent cases of kidnapping, there are no ransom calls, and are vendetta based abductions. [4] He later included several real-life incidents in the script like a case of an Indian Administrative Service officer whose wife filed a case of brutality against him. [7]
After the research, Kashyap finished the script and gave it to some people to read who felt that "it was a very dark and intense film". [6] He said: "I knew that I could make it only after I had made a successful film. So Gangs of Wasseypur allowed me the freedom to make this film without sharing the script with anyone. I just told people I wanted to make a kidnapping drama and to trust me." [6] The film's story is told over the course of a week. [8] Kashyap announced Ugly in May 2012. [9]
For casting, Kashyap chose actors who could connect with the characters in the film. [6] He found a lot of parallels between Rahul Bhat's real life and his character in the film and hence gave him the role of a failed actor. [10] The two had previously discussed the project in 2012. To prepare for his role, Bhat started consuming alcohol heavily and deprived himself of sleep to create dark circles around his character's face. [11] Tejaswini Kolhapure, per Kashyap knew "what happens when you make bad choices in life", as her first film choice, Paanch , directed by Kashyap, was never released. She plays the role of an alcoholic mother, for which she actually consumed alcohol while shooting. [12] Ronit Roy was cast in the role of a senior police officer. [13]
Vineet Kumar Singh was cast in the role of a casting director. [14] Kashyap had seen Girish Kulkarni in films such as Vihir (2010) and Deool (2011) and wanted to work with him. He met their director Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni in Denmark, who told him that Kulkarni would love to work with him. Afterwards Kashyap came back and called him for Ugly. [10] Surveen Chawla plays the role of a C-grade film actress, who she described as "crass, downmarket C-grade item girl who is ugly on the inside". [15] [16] The film has television actor Abir Goswami's last appearance before his death in 2013. [17] [18] Siddhanth Kapoor was cast in Ugly before his debut film Shootout at Wadala (2013), since he wanted to work with Kashyap. [19] Alia Bhatt makes a brief appearance in the film. [20]
Kashyap shot the whole film without giving its lead actors any script as he felt the film "required" that. [6] During shoot, he would brief the actors about the scene and let them emote to do their own bit, while the camera was kept rolling. [21] The actors got to know about the film, when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. [5] Kashyap had told Bhat and other cast that he wanted to make this film in 2012. They spent the next two years, talking to each other and getting to know each other. [5] The little girl in the film is named Kali (Hindi for bud), who, according to author Vaiju Naravane, represents "untouched innocence". [21] Anshika Shrivastava, who played the character, was unaware of the story, and Kashyap requested her parents not to show her the film as he felt she was too young for the subject matter. [22] On the day of shooting, Kashyap gave Roy the scene for the day which he refused to read and said: "I told Anurag that now that there was no script, I'll leave the shooting entirely on him." [13] For a sequence, where Bhat had to cry, Kashyap kept talking to him for three hours and he eventually broke down and wept. The camera kept rolling during that period. [6] The film was extensively shot in real locations. [6] While shooting a scene where his character is taken in remand by the police, Singh was slapped over fifty times in real. His hands were cuffed and tied to the roof to represent the actual third degree torture. [23] It was because Kashyap wanted to depict a realistic reconstruction of police methods in India. [21] A scene where both Singh and Bhat talk to the inspector in the police station was improvised, because, Kashyap wanted to show the real "police apathy and the power trip." [10]
Kashyap shot the whole film in the suburbs of Mumbai to create the feeling of constriction. He worked with a new cinematographer, Nikos Andritsakis, who works with Dibakar Banerjee, as he wanted to shoot in the "constricted spaces" of the city. [4] [24] They shot most of the scenes in one or two angles. [4] The suburbs were difficult locations to shoot because of the constant crowd hence the team then decided to use hidden cameras to capture most of the original scenes, especially the ones that were shot at Bandra and Lonavala railway station. [25] As a result, the actors did not have the liberty to give as many retakes as they can on a set. [25] Kashyap called it his most "brutally honest" film. [26] Ugly was shot for fourteen hours a day to meet the schedule and was completed in forty days. [25] Kashyap wanted the scene where Siddhant gets the money to be hyper-stylised, and he treated the scene "like an orgasm". He drew similarity of the scene with a man's eagerness to have sex, which is sudden and intense. [4] He recalled the whole shooting an "emotionally exhausting" experience. [6]
Ugly was edited by Aarti Bajaj and the sound mixing was done by the Mumbai-based audio engineer Mandar Kulkarni with assistance from Alok De. [27] Such scenes as a road accident in the film were shot on different places and later merged using visual effects provided by Balakrishna P. Subbiah Nadar. [1] [28] The film is jointly produced by Phantom Films and DAR Motion Pictures. [9]
Ugly | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 24 November 2014 | |||
Recorded | 2014 | |||
Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
Length | 19:56 | |||
Language | Hindi | |||
Label | Zee Music Company | |||
Producer | G. V. Prakash Kumar | |||
G. V. Prakash Kumar chronology | ||||
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The film's album soundtrack is composed by Tamil film composer G. V. Prakash Kumar. This is his third Hindi film he composed after Joker and Gangs of Wasseypur , in which he composed the background score for the two-part series. [29] All songs were written by Gaurav Solanki, except one track "Ugly" was written by Vineet Kumar Singh. [30] Artists like Kumar, Shilpa Rao, Singh, Ishq Bector, Christopher Stanley, Barkha Swaroop Saxena and Shree D provided vocals. Brian McOmber provided the background score. The album rights are acquired by Zee Music Company and consists of five songs. It was released on 24 November 2014. [31] According to a critic from Sify, the song "Nichod De" mocked the item numbers and their corny music and lyrics. [32]
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Suraj Hai Kahan" | G. V. Prakash Kumar | 5:16 |
2. | "Papa" | Shilpa Rao | 3:16 |
3. | "Nichod De" | Barkha Swaroop Saxena | 4:03 |
4. | "Money" | Christopher Stanley | 3:42 |
5. | "Ugly" | Ishq Bector, Vineet Kumar Singh, Shree D | 3:39 |
Total length: | 19:56 |
Ugly premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival where it received standing ovation. [33] [34] It was also screened at the third Ladakh International Film Festival, the 2014 New York Indian Film Festival and the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. [35] [36] [37] Kashyap had initially intended for the film to release in 2013 but it was delayed as he had filed a petition challenging Cigarettes and Tobacco Products Act, which makes it compulsory for filmmakers to crop or mask any scenes depicting the use of any tobacco, in India. [38] However, Bombay High Court refused to give any concessions. The Central Board of Film Certification required a "Smoking is Injurious to Health" static warning to be posted in the lower right corner of the frame whenever a character in the film is shown smoking. Kashyap fought this regulation stating, "it's the Health Ministry that should take the responsibility of curbing use of tobacco and work towards measures to control it and films should not be a medium to advertise non-smoking." [39] Kashyap initially stated that he was not going to release the film until the Board decides to abolish the rule, but after several months of negotiations, he chose to release it with the warning. [40]
A digital poster of the film was released on 15 May 2013, which was followed by the first theatrical trailer on 12 September 2013. [41] [42] The release date was pushed to next year when he second trailer was launched on 15 December 2014. [43] Kashyap had also changed his Twitter handle to "UGLYAnurag", as part of the promotional strategy. [41] A special screening of the film was held in Mumbai on 23 December 2014, which was attended by several actors including Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. [44] Kashyap said that he saw people reaching out to their children after watching the film which he felt was his purpose behind making the film. [45]
Ugly was released in India on 26 December 2014 in 300–400 screens, majorly in the metro cities. [2] Several trade analysts had predicted that the film would only cater to a niche audience. [46] The film was also theatrically released in France and Belgium. [47] It was released on DVD on 1 March 2015 and is also available on Amazon Prime Video. [48] [49]
Upon release, Ugly received widespread critical acclaim. [47] [50] Film critic Raja Sen called it Kashyap's "finest film", writing: "Ugly is a tale of torment, masterfully woven around the universally urgent trigger of a disappearing minor." [24] Shweta Kaushal, giving the film a positive review, called it "dark, gripping" and a "must watch". [51] Kaushani Banerjee of Deccan Chronicle wrote: "Every frame has a dark undertone and Ugly does not conclude until every possible avenue of audience empathy is explored." [52] Mihir Fadnavis of Firstpost called Ugly, Kashyap's "best film since Black Friday ". [53] A review carried by India Today called the film an "eye opener" and "one of the best films of the year". [54] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV, called it "indescribably better than all the muck that mainstream Bollywood passed off for entertainment this year." [55] Meena Iyer of The Times of India gave a four-out-of-five star rating and said: "It's not for the faint-hearted, but for those who are willing to let the morally decrepit live." [56] Subhash K. Jha in his review mentioned, "You know these characters are played by actors. And that there is a camera recording their activities. But you let yourself believe this is not make-believe." [57] Suprateek Chatterjee from HuffPost gave a positive review to the film and called Kashyap the "antithesis of Sooraj Barjatya". [58] Arunava Chatterjee called Ugly a "pathbreaking crime fiction" and "one of Kashyap's best so far." [59] Sonia Chopra of Sify gave a positive response and wrote: "Kashyap gives us a film that represents a disturbing reflection of life." [60]
Contrary to the positive responses, a review from Bollywood Hungama wrote, "Watch it if you are an Anurag Kashyap fan, else avoid!". [61] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express giving the film a two-star-out-of five rating, wrote: "In all the to-ing and fro-ing, it starts feeling too long, and too much, without the requisite emotional pay-off." [62] Deepanjana Pal wrote in her review, "Ugly is a disappointment, not just because it's a whodunit that sinks like a badly-made souffle but also because we expect better and more of Kashyap." [63]
Among overseas reviewers, Lee Marshall of Screen International called the film a "lazy kidnap caper" and felt the story was "too flabby". [64] Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter mentioned in her review that Ugly is "taut, angry genre film" but felt the film was comparatively weaker than Kashyap's earlier film, Gangs of Wasseypur (2012). [65] Maggie Lee from Variety gave a positive response and wrote :"[..] the grittily stylized film boasts a scattershot narrative that frustrates as much as it illuminates." [1]
Ugly was the last release of 2014 in India. [66] It received a low occupancy and earned ₹4 million (US$48,000) on its opening day, which was mainly attributed to the limited release and small scale promotion. [3] [67] The film was expected to be pulled off from screens but positive critical reception helped in the increase of numbers at the box-office. It collected ₹16.5 million (US$200,000) over the weekend. [68] It also benefited from the limited print release which meant that there won't be much reduction in print count in the next weeks. [68] The film was also released in France and Belgium, where it grossed 80,000 euros in its first week. [47]
After the end of the first week of its theatrical release, Ugly collected ₹33.4 million (US$400,000) at the box office. [3] According to Rentrak, a global media measurement company, the film collected a total of ₹62.3 million (US$750,000) after the end of its theatrical run. [3] It proved to be a box office success, after earning more than its production cost of ₹45 million (US$540,000). [2]
Black Friday is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language crime film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap. Based on Black Friday: The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts, a book by Hussain Zaidi about the 1993 Bombay bombings, it chronicles the events that led to the blasts and the subsequent police investigation. Produced by Arindam Mitra of Mid-Day, the film stars Pawan Malhotra, Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastava, Kishor Kadam and Zakir Hussain.
Anurag Kashyap is an Indian film director and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to film, the Government of France awarded him the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2013.
Surveen Chawla is an Indian actress and dancer who appears in Hindi and Punjabi films and television. She started her career with television shows like Kahin to Hoga and Kajjal. She is known for her roles in movies and shows like Hate Story 2 (2014), Ugly (2013), Parched (2015) and 24 (2016) along with many other films. In 2018, she was seen in the Hindi web series Haq Se.
Paanch (transl. Five) is a 2003 Indian crime thriller film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap in his directing debut, starring Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastava, Vijay Maurya, Joy Fernandes, and Tejaswini Kolhapure. The film is loosely based on the 1976–77 Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders in Pune.
Rahul Bhat is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He began his career as a fashion model and participated in the Graviera Mr. India contest in 1998, and subsequently worked in several advertisements and music videos. He gained fame for his leading role in the television serial Heena from 1998 to 2003. After starring in the films Yeh Mohabbat Hai (2002) and Nayee Padosan (2003), he took a sabbatical from acting and began producing television serials, including Meri Doli Tere Angana (2007–2008) and Tum Dena Saath Mera (2009).
Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1 is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language epic black comedy crime film directed by Anurag Kashyap, and written by Kashyap and Zeishan Quadri. It is the first part of the movie Gangs of Wasseypur, centered on the coal mafia of Dhanbad, and the underlying power struggles, politics and vengeance between three crime families from 1941 to the mid-1990s. Part 1 stars an ensemble cast, featuring Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadda, Reema Sen, Piyush Mishra, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vineet Kumar Singh, Pankaj Tripathi, Huma Qureshi, Anurita Jha and Tigmanshu Dhulia.
Daas Dev is an Indian Hindi-language romantic political thriller directed by Sudhir Mishra and story concept by Zuhaebb. The film stars Rahul Bhat as Dev Pratap Chauhan, Richa Chadda as Paro, Aditi Rao Hydari as Chandni, and Saurabh Shukla, Vineet Kumar Singh and Dalip Tahil in supporting roles along with Anil George, Deepraj Rana with Anurag Kashyap in a guest appearance. The film was released on 27 April 2018.
Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2 is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language epic black comedy crime film co-written, produced and directed by Anurag Kashyap. It is the second part of the movie Gangs of Wasseypur, centered on the coal mafia of Dhanbad, Jharkhand and the underlying power struggles, and dynamics of politics and vengeance between three crime families. Part 2 features an ensemble cast with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadda, Huma Qureshi, Reema Sen, Piyush Mishra, Pankaj Tripathi, Zeishan Quadri, Rajkumar Rao and Tigmanshu Dhulia in major roles. Its story spans from the 1990s to 2009.
Gangs of Wasseypur is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language two-part epic black comedy crime film produced and directed by Anurag Kashyap, and written by Kashyap and Zeishan Quadri. Centered on the coal mafia of Dhanbad, and the underlying power struggles, politics and vengeance between three crime families, the film has an ensemble cast, with Manoj Bajpai, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pankaj Tripathi, Richa Chadda, Jaideep Ahlawat, Huma Qureshi and Tigmanshu Dhulia in the major roles. Its story spans 68 years from 1941 to 2009.
Shorts is a compilation of five short films directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, Vasan Bala, Anubhuti Kashyap, Shlok Sharma and Gitanjali Rao. The five short films titled Sujata, Mehfuz, Audacity, Epilogue, and Shor were released on 12 July 2013.
Phantom Studios is an Indian filmproduction and distribution company established by Madhu Mantena, Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, and Vikramaditya Motwane. It was founded in 2011 by all four of them, and was cited as the "directors' company". In March 2015, Reliance Entertainment picked up 50% stake in the company.
Vineet Kumar Singh is an Indian actor and writer known for his strong portrayal of an aspiring boxer Shravan Kumar Singh in Mukkabaaz (2018). An M.D. in Ayurveda from Government Medical College and Hospital, Nagpur, Vineet began his acting career at the age of 21 with the movie Pitaah (2002). After few series of performances in his early career including the 2010 film City of Gold, he got noticed for his role in films like Bombay Talkies and Gangs of Wasseypur. His role in Ugly and the portrayal of the character Milan Shukla in the film Daas Dev won him appreciation. He made his debut as lead actor in the 2018 Anurag Kashyap film Mukkabaaz for which he won two awards.
Anurag Kashyap is an Indian filmmaker and actor, known for his work in Hindi cinema. After writing a television series Kabhie Kabhie (1997), Kashyap co-wrote Ram Gopal Varma's crime drama Satya (1998). He later wrote and directed a short television film, Last Train to Mahakali (1999), and made his feature film debut with the yet-unreleased film Paanch. He next directed Black Friday (2007), a film on the 1993 Bombay bombings. Its release was barred by India's Censor Board for two years, but was eventually released in 2007 to positive reviews. The same year, he directed the critical and commercial failure No Smoking. Return of Hanuman (2007), an animated film, was Kashyap's next directorial venture. In 2009, he directed Dev.D, a modern-day take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Bengali novel Devdas, along with the political drama Gulaal. Despite positive reviews, the latter was a box-office failure.
Neeraj Ghaywan is an Indian film director and writer who works in Hindi films. He is the winner of several accolades including a National film Award and two Filmfare Awards.
Imaikkaa Nodigal is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by R. Ajay Gnanamuthu. It stars Nayanthara with Atharvaa, Raashii Khanna, and Anurag Kashyap, with the latter two both marking their debut in Tamil cinema in prominent roles. Vijay Sethupathi plays an extended cameo. The music was composed by Hiphop Tamizha, cinematography by R. D. Rajasekhar, editing by Bhuvan Srinivasan, and produced by C. J. Jayakumar. The film is a situational story focalizing on how a serial killer is apprehended by an intelligent CBI officer.
Mukkabaaz, released internationally as The Brawler, is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film co-written, co-produced and directed by Anurag Kashyap. Jointly produced by Aanand L. Rai's Colour Yellow Productions and Phantom Films, the film stars Vineet Kumar Singh, debutant Zoya Hussain, Ravi Kishan and Jimmy Shergill in the lead roles. It follows Shravan Kumar (Singh), an aspiring boxer, who falls in love with the niece of the boxing federation head, Bhagwan Das Mishra (Shergill). Kashyap, Singh, Mukti Singh Srinet, K.D.Satyam, Ranjan Chandel and Prasoon Mishra wrote the script.
Sacred Games is an Indian neo-noir crime thriller television series based on Vikram Chandra's 2006 novel of the same name. India's first Netflix original series, it was produced and directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap as Phantom Films. The novel was adapted by Varun Grover, Smita Singh, and Vasant Nath. Kelly Luegenbiehl, Erik Barmack and Motwane were the series' executive producers.
AK vs AK is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language black comedy thriller film directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and is the first release under his banner Andolan Films. Anurag Kashyap, the executive producer and dialogue writer, also stars alongside Anil Kapoor as the title characters with Harshvardhan Kapoor and debutante Yogita Bihani in pivotal roles.
Dobaaraa, also stylized as 2:12, is a Hindi-language science-fiction mystery thriller film directed by Anurag Kashyap. The film stars Taapsee Pannu, Pavail Gulati and Rahul Bhat.
Kennedy is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir thriller film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap. It stars Rahul Bhat and Sunny Leone in the lead roles. The film marks the third collaboration of Kashyap and Bhat after Ugly (2013) and Dobaaraa (2022).