After Luck By Chance,in which Anurag Kashyap played a cameo as himself,the director will be seen in a full-fledged role as a child abuser in Onirs I AM releasing this week. Interestingly,it was Anurag who offered to play the part when Onir did not get any actor for the role. I AM is an important film and Onir is a sensitive filmmaker. So,when no commercial actor was willing to play the role,I agreed to do it, says Anurag. It was just two days before the shoot that Onir asked him to take a flight to Bengaluru for the shoot and Anurag flew at his own cost. Its a story that needed to be told and Onir did not have adequate budget to make it. I will never take money for things like this,in fact its my contribution to the film, says Anurag who himself has been a victim of child abuse for the longest. It was the toughest time of my life and I did not know how to deal with it, recalls the director. As a result,playing the role was disturbing and cathartic for Anurag who gets affected every time he watches the film. To make matters worse,the boy who plays his son in the film doesnt have a father in real life. I felt horrible especially during the bathing scenes,because he got very close to me emotionally and started asking his mother why he didnt have a father. It was disturbing because he doesnt know what is actually shown on screen, sighs Anurag. After the sensitive I AM,Anurags next outing as an actor is Shagird,which has him playing a gangster. The role is longish and Anurag agreed to do it only if Tigmanshu Dhulia who is directing the film acted in his movie Gangs Of Wasseypur. Consequently,Tigmanshu is the main villain in Anurags film that is set to release by the end of this year. Before that Shaitan,which Anurag has co-produced and is directed by Bejoy Nambiar,is coming up on June 10. It is about a bunch of guys from affluent backgrounds. Its about that one moment when they lose control and things go horribly wrong. Theres also a parallel story of a cop whose life is personally affected. A kickass thriller,its something that India has never seen before and heralds the arrival of a good director, says Anurag appreciatively. Having wrapped up his Gangs Of Wasseypur,Anurag is busy scripting a small thriller which he will be directing and has Rahul Bhat (not Mahesh Bhatts son) in the lead role. He is also in talks with a production house to finalise the release of his internationally acclaimed That Girl In The Yellow Boots this year. Currently he is one his way to Ooty where he will tie the knot with fiancee Kalki Koechlin. chaya.unnikrishnan@expressindia.com
