“Making films like Thappad and Mulk is tough, making entertainers is easy”

ANUBHAV SINHA MAKES CANDID CONFESSIONS ABOUT LIFE AND CAREER. SUMAN SHARMA TAKES NOTES OF THE WIT AND WISDOM

- 

Over the last few years, Anubhav Sinha has emerged as one of Hindi cinema’s most politically and socially conscious voices. But long before films like Mulk, Article 15 and Thappad turned him into the poster filmmaker for issue-based storytelling, Sinha was already navigating the unpredictable terrain of mainstream Bollywood with films as varied as Tum Bin, Dus and Ra.One. What makes his journey fascinating is not merely the shift in genre, but the clarity with which he speaks about cinema, commerce and conviction. There’s little pretence in his reflections... Whether he is candidly admitting the professional blow that followed Ra.One, speaking about why he wanted Assi to deeply disturb audiences, or explaining why he now considers his socially-driven films his most “commercial” work. In this conversation, Sinha opens up about feminism, censorship within the industry, the burden of credibility, his enduring belief in meaningful storytelling and why, despite everything, he still occasionally dreams of making an unabashed commercial entertainer again.

Assi was based on a rape case. It was very important for this film to reach the audience. But when a film like this doesn’t get the response it deserves, do you feel that perhaps your purpose was defeated?