Anurag Kashyap doesn’t make safe films. He never has. The man who gave us the raw brutality of Gangs of Wasseypur, the twisted darkness of No Smoking, and the gritty realism of Black Friday has spent three decades refusing to play by Bollywood’s rules.
And Bollywood has made him pay for it. Again. And again. And again.
His latest film Nishaanchi opened in September with Rs 25 lakh. Not 25 crore. Twenty five lakh. On day one. By the time theatres finished kicking it out, the total collection barely crossed Rs 1 crore. The film ended on a cliffhanger promising Part 2 coming soon. Except Part 2 never made it to cinemas.
Last Friday, Prime Video quietly dropped both parts together. No fanfare. No promotion. No theatrical release for the sequel. Just a sudden upload that completed a story most people didn’t even know had started.
And when asked why, Kashyap gave the most brutally honest answer of his career.
“Because no one will see my film in cinema.”
Six words that sum up everything broken about Indian theatrical distribution. Six words that reveal why one of Hindi cinema’s most celebrated auteurs is giving up on the big screen. Six words that should make every film lover furious.
Because this isn’t just about one movie flopping. This is about a system that has been discarding Anurag Kashyap’s films for his entire career. And he’s finally had enough.
Share this with every cinephile you know. The theatrical experience just lost one of its greatest champions.
The Disaster Nobody Saw Coming (Except Everyone Who Knows How This Works)
Nishaanchi released on September 19, 2025. It marked the acting debut of Aishvary Thackeray, grandson of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. The young actor spent five years preparing for this moment, working as an assistant director on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani before stepping in front of the camera.
The film is vintage Kashyap territory. Set in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, it revolves around twin brothers who are complete opposites. They fall for the same girl while their single mother battles to keep the family together against a local crime lord’s evil designs. It’s melodrama meets crime saga, Mehboob Khan colliding with Yash Chopra through Kashyap’s gritty lens.
The cast is solid. Vedika Pinto, Monika Panwar, and Kumud Mishra deliver strong performances. The reviews were mixed but acknowledged this is compelling cinema, even if imperfect. The Times of India called it a film worth sitting through despite heavy runtime and forgettable songs, praising the world Kashyap builds and the performances he extracts.
None of that mattered at the ticket window.
Day 1: Rs 25 lakh. Day 2 saw a spike to Rs 39 lakh, a 56% jump that suggested word of mouth might rescue it. Day 3 crashed back to Rs 26 lakh. Monday collected Rs 13 lakh. Within a week, theatres started canceling shows. The film’s lifetime theatrical run ended at Rs 1.03 crore.
To put that in perspective, Jolly LLB 3, which released the same weekend, collected Rs 53 crore. Nishaanchi earned less than 2% of that figure. It became Kashyap’s second lowest grossing film ever, barely above Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat which collected Rs 25 lakh lifetime.
The film ended on a cliffhanger. Part 2 was shot. The plan was always a two part saga. Glimpses from the sequel played before the end credits with a coming soon promise.
Except coming soon meant skipping cinemas entirely.
The Decision That Shocked Nobody (And Disappointed Everyone)
On November 14, Prime Video dropped both Nishaanchi parts on its platform. No advance announcement. No marketing campaign. Just both films suddenly available for streaming. The move blindsided audiences who’d been waiting for Part 2’s theatrical release.
When Hindustan Times reached out for comment, Kashyap’s response was blunt. “Had the audience turned up for Part 1, there is no way the second part wouldn’t have been released in cinemas. And since most of the reaction was that the film felt incomplete to everyone, it was decided to let them have the complete experience.”
Translation? You didn’t show up when it mattered. So here’s the whole thing on your phone screen.
He told Screen even more directly: “Because no one will see my film in cinema. Much rather see it all together on Prime.”
But here’s where it gets interesting. Kashyap claims it was his suggestion. “It was my suggestion, and our collective decision between Amazon (producers) and us,” he revealed. Amazon MGM Studios produced Nishaanchi and owns Prime Video, giving them unique flexibility other filmmakers don’t have.
Think about that. The director himself asked for his sequel to skip theatres. That’s not defeat. That’s acceptance of a reality he’s been fighting his entire career.
And when people asked why Prime didn’t even promote the Part 2 release, Kashyap blamed the eight week rule.
The Eight Week Prison Nobody Talks About
Here’s something most audiences don’t know. There’s an agreement between OTT platforms and theatre exhibitors in India. After a film releases theatrically, it cannot stream on OTT for eight weeks minimum. This window exists to protect theatrical revenues and prevent platforms from cannibalizing box office collections.
In theory, it makes sense. Give theatres exclusive access for two months, then let streaming have it.
In practice, it’s a disaster for films like Nishaanchi.
“No marketing could be done because of theatre OTT rule,” Kashyap explained. “Theatres don’t allow to even promote the film or drop it anywhere for eight weeks, and OTT has to do their part of the deal.”
So Nishaanchi Part 1 released September 19. Eight weeks later brings us to mid November. Only then could Prime Video legally promote or release Part 2. By that point, who remembers a film that collected Rs 1 crore two months ago?
But wait. It gets worse.
“That’s another thing that theatres themselves don’t adhere to it,” Kashyap pointed out. “They will cancel shows and throw the film out if it doesn’t open, not allowing the word of mouth to build up. That’s how they treat non tentpole films.”
Catch that? Theatres demand an eight week exclusive window. But if your film doesn’t open big, they kick it out within days. So you can’t promote the OTT release for eight weeks, but the theatrical release lasts less than one week.
The system is rigged against non franchise, non star driven cinema. And Kashyap has been on the losing end of this game for decades.
Don’t miss what he revealed about his entire career next.
Three Decades Of Being Discarded
“It’s pretty one sided, and I have seen my films being discarded my whole career by exhibitors themselves,” Kashyap admitted.
Let that sink in. This is the man who made Gangs of Wasseypur, a film now considered a modern classic. This is the director of Dev.D, a bold reimagining of Devdas that defined millennial angst. This is the creator of Sacred Games, the series that put Indian streaming on the global map.
And throughout his entire career, exhibitors have treated his films like trash.
His 2007 film No Smoking, a surrealist psychological thriller, received overwhelmingly negative reception and was pulled from theatres within a week. Critics hated it. Audiences stayed away. Kashyap later admitted it was him trying to be David Lynch via Stephen King, and Indian audiences weren’t ready for that experiment.
Bombay Velvet in 2015 was his dream project. He’d been trying to make it for years. Big budget. Period setting. Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma starring. It bombed spectacularly. Kashyap told Rajeev Masand he wanted to leave India at one point because he felt people didn’t understand his films, then realized he’d mismanaged the budget.
His most recent directorial Kennedy premiered at Cannes 2024 to strong reviews. It still hasn’t found a theatrical release in India. The film that earned international acclaim can’t get screens in its home country.
Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat collected Rs 25 lakh lifetime. That’s not a typo. Twenty five lakh for an entire theatrical run.
And now Nishaanchi couldn’t even crack Rs 2 crore.
The pattern is clear. Unless Kashyap makes a franchise film or casts A list stars, exhibitors don’t give his work a chance. They’ll book his films, take the minimal shows requirement fee, then dump the movie the moment it doesn’t explode opening weekend.
“We were lucky that we had a studio, who also has a streaming platform, producing our film and backing us,” Kashyap said. That’s the only reason Nishaanchi Part 2 exists at all. Any other producer would have eaten the loss and shelved the sequel permanently.
The Irony Of Kashyap’s OTT Love Hate Relationship
Here’s where the story gets complicated. Anurag Kashyap has spent the last few years criticizing OTT platforms for dumbing down content.
In a May 2025 interview with The Hindu, he slammed Netflix and Prime Video for prioritizing subscriptions over quality. “When we did Sacred Games and Lust Stories, when Netflix came in, we thought this was an opportunity. And then, slowly, roughly around the time of Covid, everything turned around again. Now what they’re doing is worse than television.”
He accused platforms of creating content to feed everyone without offending anyone, chasing the lowest common denominator to maximize subscriptions from India’s 1.4 billion population. “They don’t want to create art or cinema, they’re creating content,” he said bitterly.
He revealed Netflix canceled Sacred Games season 3 after the Tandav controversy. His Maximum City adaptation got shelved. The setbacks sent him into a mental health spiral.
So Kashyap hates how OTT has evolved. He thinks platforms are destroying artistic integrity. He’s watched his ambitious projects get canceled or compromised.
And yet, OTT is the only place his films can now survive.
That’s the tragedy. The system he criticizes is the only system that will distribute his work. Theatres have given up on him. OTT at least gives him a platform, even if it’s not the creative paradise he once hoped for.
What This Means For Independent Cinema
The Nishaanchi situation has sparked intense debate online. Some users are already comparing it to Shankar’s Indian franchise, suggesting Indian 3 should skip theatres and go straight to streaming after Indian 2’s negative reception.
The logic is simple. If you’ve already shot most of a sequel but the first part tanked, why waste money on theatrical distribution? Sell the OTT rights, use the advance to complete remaining portions, and release directly on streaming.
It’s cost effective. It’s practical. It’s smart business.
It’s also the death of theatrical cinema for anything that isn’t a tentpole release.
Here’s what happens when films like Nishaanchi get kicked out of theatres. Exhibitors look at the numbers and decide only safe bets deserve screens. Big stars. Established franchises. Remakes of proven hits. Anything risky gets dumped.
Directors stop taking chances. Why make something bold when it’ll get pulled after three days? Why experiment when you need a Rs 50 crore opening to survive? Why challenge audiences when playing it safe is the only way to keep your theatrical distribution?
Cinema becomes safer. Blander. More predictable. The Anurag Kashyaps of the world either conform or disappear.
And the irony? Kashyap’s films always find their audience eventually. Gangs of Wasseypur had a modest theatrical run but became a cultural phenomenon on home video and streaming. No Smoking has been critically reevaluated as ahead of its time. Dev.D lives on as a cult classic.
His films need time to find their people. But theatres don’t give them that time anymore. One week. That’s all you get. Open big or get out.
The Politics Nobody Wants To Discuss
There’s another angle here that’s uncomfortable but necessary. Aishvary Thackeray, Nishaanchi’s lead actor, is Bal Thackeray’s grandson. The Thackeray family founded Shiv Sena and remains politically powerful in Maharashtra.
You’d think having that name attached would guarantee better theatrical treatment in Mumbai and Maharashtra circuits. Political pressure could have kept screens open longer. The Thackeray name carries weight.
It didn’t help.
If even political connections can’t save a film from being discarded, what hope do truly independent filmmakers have? If Anurag Kashyap, with four Filmfare Awards and international acclaim, can’t get a fair theatrical run, who can?
The system isn’t just broken for outsiders. It’s broken for everyone who isn’t making the safest possible commercial film.
What Kashyap Does Next
The filmmaker is pivoting to acting. He’s appeared in Tamil films like Leo, Maharaja, and Viduthalai Part 2, earning praise for his performances. He’s become an in demand character actor down south while his directing career languishes in Hindi cinema.
He’s also talked about leaving Mumbai and the Hindi film industry entirely. “The joy of creating films has been lost,” he admitted. The city that made him feels like the city that’s killing his creativity.
His next release as an actor is Dacoit with Adivi Sesh and Mrunal Thakur, scheduled for Christmas weekend. It’ll clash with Alia Bhatt’s Alpha and the Anaconda reboot. Kashyap the actor is more bankable than Kashyap the director right now.
That sentence should make every film lover sad.
The Closing Question Nobody Wants To Answer
Here’s the uncomfortable truth. Audiences stayed away from Nishaanchi. You can blame exhibitors for not giving it time. You can criticize the eight week rule. You can point out systemic biases against non tentpole films.
But at the end of the day, people didn’t buy tickets.
Kashyap himself said if audiences had shown up for Part 1, Part 2 would have gotten a theatrical release. The audience decides with their wallets. And they decided Nishaanchi wasn’t worth watching in cinemas.
So who’s really at fault? The exhibitors who pulled the film? The system that privileges franchises? Or the audiences who’d rather watch safe commercial cinema than take a chance on something different?
Maybe it’s all of the above. Maybe the entire ecosystem is broken. Maybe we’ve reached a point where theatrical cinema and artistic risk taking can’t coexist anymore.
Anurag Kashyap made his choice. Part 2 went straight to streaming. He’d rather people watch the complete story at home than never see it at all.
And honestly? Can you blame him?
Drop a comment: Do you think Nishaanchi deserved a better theatrical run? Would you have watched it in cinemas if it stayed longer? Or is this the natural evolution of the film industry?
Share this with someone who complains about Bollywood making the same movies over and over. This is why. Because when filmmakers try something different, nobody shows up.
Follow for more stories about the battle between art and commerce in Indian cinema. Because as long as films like Nishaanchi earn Rs 1 crore while mediocre franchises earn Rs 300 crore, this conversation isn’t over.
When the director himself gives up on theatres, it’s not just his loss. It’s ours.
