Anurag Kashap made his debut in the entertainment industry as a screenwriter in the 1998 Hindi-language gangster action crime film ‘Satya,’ directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The film opened to critical acclaim and was a major box office success. He went on to write films like ‘Shool’ (1999), ‘Kaun’ (1999), and ‘Jung’ (2000), before making his directorial debut in the 2003 Indian crime thriller film ‘Paanch.’ Due to the film’s violent theme and depiction of drug use, it wasn’t approved for a theatrical release by the Indian Censor Board. ‘Paanch’ was later cleared by the Censor Board after some cuts, but due to certain complications, the film was never released in theaters or home media. However, the film was screened at various film festivals, including ‘Filmfest Hamburg’ in 2003, and ‘Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema’ in 2005.Â
After writings dialogs for ‘Yuva’ (2004), ‘Water’ (2005), ‘Main Aisa Hi Hoon’ (2005), and ‘Mixed Doubles’ (2006), Kashyap returned to the director’s chair in the Hindi-language crime film ‘Black Friday’ (2007). While the film opened to wide critical acclaim, it was a moderate box office success. That same year, he also directed the Hindi-language meta surrealist mystery psychological thriller film ‘No Smoking’ which was a box office bomb. Kashyap was also the writer of both films. He went on to direct films like ‘Return of Hanuman’ (2007), ‘Dev.D’ (2009), and ‘Gulaal’ (2009). In 2010, he wrote and produced the Hindi-language coming-of-age drama film ‘Udaan’ for which he won 2 Filmfare Awards (both shared with Vikramaditya Motwane).Â
In 2012, Kashyap directed the Hindi-language crime action film ‘Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1.’ The film earned critical acclaim upon release and was a financial success. That same year, the second installment of the film, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2,’ was also released. Both parts were shot as a single film but due to the excessive length of the movie, it was segregated into two parts. Kashyap was also the writer and producer of the film. He then produced ‘Talaash: The Answer Lies Within’ (2012), ‘Shahid’ (2012), ‘The Lunchbox’ (2013), ‘Lootera’ (2013), and ‘Shorts’ (2013). In 2014, Kashyap produced the Hindi-language comedy-drama film ‘Queen.’ The film received universal acclaim upon release and was a massive box office success, grossing over ₹222 crores against a budget of ₹12 crores.Â
He next directed ‘Ugly’ (2014), ‘Bombay Velvet’ (2015), ‘Raman Raghav 2.0’ (2016), ‘Mukkabaaz’ (2018), ‘Manmarziyaan’ (2018), ‘Ghost Stories’ (2020), and ‘Choked’ (2020). He was last seen in the 2021 Hindi-language drama film ‘Bansuri: The Flute’ where he played the role of Sadashiv. He is currently directing the upcoming film ‘Dobaaraa.’
