Anurag Kashyap on Rift with Abhay Deol: “If I Speak the Truth, He Won’t Be Able to Face It”

In a recent interview, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap addressed his longstanding conflicts with actors Abhay Deol and Pankaj Jha. After their successful collaboration on Dev D in 2009, Kashyap and Deol drifted apart, with Deol publicly voicing his discontent.

Discussing the rift with Janice Sequeira, Kashyap stated, “I have not met Abhay since the shooting of Dev D. If he wants to call me toxic, fine, it’s his side of the story. The truth can’t be spoken because if I do, he won’t be able to show his face. There is too much truth that Abhay will also not have the courage to talk about.”

Kashyap also clarified the controversy surrounding the replacement of Pankaj Jha with Pankaj Tripathi in Gangs of Wasseypur. He described it as a misunderstanding, explaining that Jha had joined the Osho ashram and was not acting at the time. Kashyap cast Tripathi on a tight budget, and Jha never contacted him about the replacement.

Addressing allegations of being “toxic” and “problematic,” Kashyap acknowledged that he can’t always make everyone happy and prefers not to work with those who view him negatively.

Pankaj Jha, in an interview with Digital Commentary, expressed his disappointment at being replaced without notification and criticized the industry’s lack of integrity. Meanwhile, Abhay Deol has repeatedly called Kashyap “toxic” in various interviews.

On the work front, Kashyap recently appeared in the Vijay Sethupathi starrer Maharaja and is set to share the screen with Gulshan Devaiah in Bad Cop.