Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has openly criticised Netflix, the streaming platform once credited for redefining India’s digital storytelling space. In a recent chat with Komal Nahta, the Sacred Games director shared his disappointment over the creative restrictions he claims the platform began imposing on filmmakers.
Anurag Kashyap says Netflix is trying to play “massy game at a premium cost”; slams OTT giant for streaming CID and The Great Indian Kapil Show
“Our worst experiences have been with Netflix,” Kashyap said candidly. “They would control every aspect of filmmaking — the cast, the story, everything. When that started happening, I stepped away. And after me, many other filmmakers who don’t want to compromise on their storytelling have also stepped away.”
Kashyap further explained that the platform has drifted away from the very identity that once made it stand apart. “People came to Netflix because they found something new, fresh, and brave — something they couldn’t find elsewhere. But now, it wants to be massy and compete with Hotstar and MX Player. Why would anyone pay to watch the same content?”
The filmmaker didn’t hold back while commenting on Netflix’s recent programming choices either. “Other OTTs aren’t pretending to be elite,” he said. “Many of them are free. But Netflix charges so much and then brings shows like The Great Indian Kapil Show and CID — things people already watched for free on television. You have snatched it from the audience and are now asking them to pay for it. They are trying to play a massy game at a premium cost — it’s not going to work.”
Kashyap’s fallout with Netflix traces back to his long-gestating project Maximum City, based on Suketu Mehta’s acclaimed 2004 book Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. The filmmaker was earlier in talks with the platform for the adaptation, but creative differences reportedly stalled the project.
This isn’t the first time tensions between Kashyap and Netflix have surfaced. The director had previously worked with the streamer on Sacred Games, which became one of India’s first global streaming hits. However, the show’s abrupt cancellation after its second season allegedly led to creative disagreements between the two sides.
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