Anurag Kashyap reveals, “Bombay Velvet’s budget jumped from Rs. 28 cr to Rs. 90 cr; was not able to process it. I called up Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra…”; also adds, “Ranveer Singh was first choice. Directors called him ‘treadmill’ as he has a lot of energy!” 28 : Bollywood News

Anurag Kashyap had a fascinating conversation with Komal Nahta and talked about the traumatic experience of directing Bombay Velvet (2015), starring Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.

Anurag Kashyap reveals, “Bombay Velvet’s budget jumped from Rs. 28 cr to Rs. 90 cr; was not able to process it. I called up Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra…”; also adds, “Ranveer Singh was first choice. Directors called him ‘treadmill’ as he has a lot of energy!”

Anurag began by saying, “Bombay Velvet had a huge budget. In such a scenario, film jo hai, woh film nahin rehti hai. The whole focus is on the opening. The final edit of the film was not locked as per my requirement. It was nearly three hours long. The fear was that it would get fewer shows due to the length. In such a situation, kainchi chalwani padti hai.”

He said, “I ultimately made the film I wanted to but at a very high budget. Woh film kam budget mein bhi ban sakti thi. The original budget was not much. But then the studio came on board and I was surrounded by ambition on all four sides.”

Anurag revealed, “Originally, the budget was Rs. 28 crores and it jumped to Rs. 90 crores! Yet, the studio bought the film (laughs). Then I had to justify the cost. I had done recce for 7 years for this film with the idea that I have Rs. 28 crores. I had envisioned that I would depict Bombay of the 1960s in parts. This is how Anurag Basu managed to make Barfi (2012) in a controlled budget. But now, to justify the cost, we had to create a set and a studio in Sri Lanka. Earlier, we used to go on the set in an auto rickshaw. But we used to reach the sets of Bombay Velvet in a Mercedes (laughs)! Even a resort was built at the location for accommodation. I used to believe this before and after this experience, I believe even more strongly that the amount of money you spend should reflect on screen by 3 or 4 times.”

Anurag Kashyap further said, “I waited for 1 ½ years. I pushed the release of Bombay Velvet. In the interim, I made Ugly (2014). I was not able to process (the increase in budget). I spoke to everyone in the industry. Aisa koi nahin tha industry mein, jisse maine baat na kiya ho. I called up Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra, etc. Everyone told me, ‘Tum pagal ho gaye ho. Go for it. This is correct. Work with a bigger actor’.”

He continued, “I had considered a small actor for this role. His name is Ranveer Singh. No one had any faith in him. All the big directors used to call him ‘treadmill’ because he has a lot of energy! Meanwhile, Ranbir Kapoor is a fantastic actor. It took me a year to reach from Ranveer to Ranbir mentally and emotionally. Ranbir was dedicated. I assumed I was wrong. The whole industry also said the same thing to me. They told me, ‘The studio is experienced. Whatever decisions have been made for you are right. You are just scared to make a big budget film and with a big star’. I bought into it.”

At another point in the interview, Anurag Kashyap stated, “Everyone on this film was scared. They feared it was too long, the hero and heroine’s entry happens late into the narrative, etc. I was told to cut down their childhood portion. What was more important than the opening was the collection of the film over the first weekend. I was scared and felt burdened. I had to remove 25 minutes from the film.”

Also Read: Guneet Monga feels Vikramaditya Motwane should direct Gangs of Wasseypur 3: “Anurag Kashyap will be happy with it”