MUMBAI : Anurag Kashyap is a maverick filmmaker from Bollywood. In his long career, he has championed so many independent voices and frequently gives chances to newcomers. 

Also read - What! “Small Films will disappear”, Anurag Kashyap reveals his film Gangs of Wasseypur was taken down from cinemas to make place for Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger

He is also a very vocal person who, unlike most celebrities, doesn't shy away from speaking his mind on several issues. Kashyap is currently gearing up for the release of Haddi, where he is acting alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Kashyap was asked about gender-appropriate casting for films like Haddi. He said, "See, I have faced this thing during Sacred Games. Kukoo ki casting ke time (during Kukoo's casting), whenever we reached out to somebody who was transgender, they said no. They said no because at that time the world was not ready to accept them as they were and they were also in fear. What has happened in the post-pandemic time, people are becoming more aware. They are accepting more." The filmmaker then gave the examples of Ghoomer and Made In Heaven 2 which featured transgender actors.

However, Kashyap said that casting cannot be done just for the sake of representation as there is a requirement. "There is also requirement of performance. There has to be representation I understand, but the representation can't be taken for granted", he added. In Sacred Games, the role of a transgender character named Kukoo was played by Kubbra Sait.

In the same interview, the Gangs of Wasseypur director was asked about his first meeting with Nawazuddin. He said, "The first time I met him I actually did not even notice him. Really in the sense, I met him because some friends of mine told me there's an actor who is leaving town which is Rajpal Yadav." 

Kashyap then got both Rajpal and Nawaz small roles in Shool. He said that he noticed Nawaz for the first time while working with him on Black Friday. "His presence was so strong. So that was the first time I really noticed him. Since then it's been non-stop", he added.

Also read - What! “Small Films will disappear”, Anurag Kashyap reveals his film Gangs of Wasseypur was taken down from cinemas to make place for Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger

Haddi is directed by Akshat Ajay Sharma and stars Nawazuddin, Anurag, Ila Arun, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Saurabh Sachdeva, Sridhar Dubey, Vipin Sharma, and Saharsh Shukla. The film is slated to release on ZEE5 on September 7, on the same day as Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan.

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Credits - Pinkvilla