Exclusive | Anurag Kashyap on Acting in 'Dacoit' and Finding Himself Again: 'Want to Make Films My Way, Not Rush Into Anything'

What does Anurag Kashyap do when he is not writing? He plans when to write next. The filmmaker says he has creatively “gone back” to where he began in the late ’90s, immersing himself in scripts, waiting to make films the right way, on his own terms. He credits his latest acting project, Dacoit, for putting him in a “good space.”

"I have found myself again," Kashyap says as he opens up about featuring in the upcoming action-drama Dacoit, headlined by Adivi Sesh and Mrunal Thakur. The film is gearing up for a wide release on April 10.

In an interview with THR India, Kashyap talks about Dacoit, how he was pitched the film at Shobhita Dhulipala's wedding, and what it means for him to be an actor today.

You’re at an interesting phase as an actor right now. When this script came to you, what interested you about the world of the film?

It was very strange how I got into it. I was at Shobhita’s wedding because I was one of the people carrying her to the mandap. That’s where I met the producer, Supriya, after a very long time. I’ve known her since my Satya days! She was used to drive us around in Hyderabad and Chennai when we used to hang out back then.

At the wedding, she told me they had been trying to reach me because they wanted me to act in the film. I told her I didn’t want to act as I was already directing two films and was very busy. But right there, during the wedding, they started narrating the film to me; I understood half the character during that narration itself.

They told me I would be playing a cop, but not a villain. It’s not a hero versus villain film — it’s a love story. I play a cop who is fighting his own urges, addictions, anger and impulses. What interested me was that they didn’t want me to play the usual psycho or eccentric character. I was getting to play someone my age, with my shortcomings. He gets tired when he runs and has physical limitations.

And it seems to be anchored in a love story...

It is. It’s a love story about two ex-lovers. They both carry anger and love within them, and what they carry inside becomes the crux of the film. I am more like a catalyst in the film. I also had to perform barefoot in the film, and the schedule was long. But by the end, the film also put me in a good space.

What do you mean by that?

I realised that I need to focus on my health and physicality. It also gave me enough time to stay away from everything I wanted to stay away from. It gave me an excuse to step away... because when I was doing Maharaja (the Tamil film with Vijay Sethupathi), I was still very much in Mumbai and in the middle of everything.

I feel like I’ve gone back to where I started — like the late ’90s and early 2000s — writing for others, wanting to make my films my way, and waiting to do it the right way instead of rushing into anything. In that process, I found myself again.

Adivi Sesh had mentioned how you gave only one directorial input during the film....

Yes, that’s true. When I’m acting, I never sit at the monitor and I don’t interfere. But once I happened to see a scene on the monitor while I was sitting with the producer. I felt that a pause in a particular moment would add gravity to the scene. So I took permission from the director and said, “Can I suggest something as a filmmaker?”

They were very open to it. I suggested a small pause in the performance, and that was the only time I gave my inputs. Otherwise, I don’t interfere because the director knows the film they are making.

Have you ever rejected a role because the filmmaker in you didn’t agree with the material, even if the actor in you liked the part?

No, the actor in me doesn’t function like that. My reasons for doing films as an actor are very different. For me, it’s about the people I am working with. Because I often work in industries where I don’t know the language, I usually say yes because there is one person I trust who endorses the project.

For example, here, Supriya was there, so I agreed to listen to the script. In another film, I did it because Vijay Sethupathi was there. In Rifle Club, I did it because I trust the director. So it’s always about the people involved.

This process is also a learning experience for me. New filmmakers look at cinema very differently, so working with them is like re-schooling myself. It also takes care of my finances and gives me time to sit and write without rushing into directing something immediately. I already have two scripts ready and will have two more ready by the end of the year.

Did shooting this film give you any ideas that turned into a script?

Yes! I actually wrote a script in the middle of shooting this film. There were long hours of shooting and travel, but I enjoyed it a lot.