'Chhaava' director Laxman Utekar tells 'Chale Jao Beshak, koi zabardasti nahi hai,' as he reacts to Anurag Kashyap's statement about leaving Bollywood: 'Aap wahin atke huye ho'

A while ago, Anurag Kashyap had said in an interview that he wants to leave Bollywood and Bombay as he's fed up of it. He had criticised the industry for making the same kind of movies and not wanting to experiment. He had also slammed OTT platforms for the same. Earlier, in an interview with The Hindu, he said, "I’ve left Mumbai. I want to stay away from film people. The industry has become too toxic. Everyone is chasing unrealistic targets, trying to make the next Rs 500 or Rs 800 crore film. The creative atmosphere is gone.”Now 'Chhaava' director Laxman Utekar has reacted to Kashyap's statement. When asked about it in an interview, he told Mama's Couch, "Chale jao chod kar, beshak chale jao, koi zabadasti nahi kar raha hai. See, ye industry aisi hai ki you have to be mentally and creatively happy, then only we can make a great… agar aapka mann nahi hai yahan rehne ka toh aap great film kaise banaoge? Aap chale jao, isse acha (Leave if you want to, nobody is forcing you to stay. You can only make movies if you are creatively happy, and there’s no point in forcing yourself if you can’t put your heart in it).”He further said that Kashyap is wrong in saying that the audience has no sensibility. He added, "Woh galat bol rahe hai jab woh kehte hai ki audience ko sensibilities nahi hai unki film accept karne ki… balki unki sensibility nahi hai audience ka taste accept karne ki. Aaj 700-800 crore tak business kar rahi hai films… how can you say cinema is dying? Aap collection toh dekho Baahubali ka, RRR ka, Pushpa ka—1200 crore tak ka collection tha. Ya phir in fact Chhaava ka. Sensibility aapki change honi chahiye kyunki aap wahin par aatke huye ho (How can you say cinema is dying when movies are doing business of over Rs 1000 crore? You should change your sensibilities instead of telling the audience to change themselves).”Laxman said that film-makers will have to evolve with time as the audience is constantly evolving. "Aaj audience ke paas apne phone mein duniya bhar ka cinema hai. They are more updated than you. They know what to watch and what not to. And after every three years, cinema is changing. cinematography is changing, editing is changing, storytelling, costume… everything is changing. As a filmmaker, you have to change. You can’t be stuck in the past and say the audience doesn’t have sensibility. You have to change," he said.The director also criticised some film-makers who just make movies for a certain kind of audience from Bandra to Juhu. He said, "Unko pata hi nahi hai logon ko kya dekhna hai… kyunki woh rehte hai aise Juhu-Bandra jaise posh areas mein. Wahan rehna bura nahi hai, main bhi chahta hoon wahan rahun. Inn logon ka holiday hota hai London, New York, Dubai mein… unko Bandra ke aage Parel, Thane, Chembur jaise areas pata hi nahi. They don’t even know these areas exist. Jab aap apna desh ghume hi nahi ho… aap apne desh ko jaante hi nahi ho… aap apne brands mein busy ho… toh unko kaise pata chalega ki log kya dekhna chahte hai (These people have no idea that there is a world beyond Juhu and Bandra. They need to open their eyes and travel around the country. Instead, they are busy with their brands).”