Anurag Kashyap is known for his versatility and ability to write anywhere, even in a rickshaw, hahaha! Recently, he shared an intriguing story about how he approached John Abraham with a film idea about a “bad actor.”
However, John turned down the offer, expressing his desire to change the perception stating that he was not a good actor. He said people already considered him a bad actor and asked for a role where he could truly perform.
Anurag Kashyap’s journey to creating No Smoking, a film about a self-obsessed, narcissistic chain smoker who agrees to quit smoking to save his marriage, began during a challenging period in his life. At the time, his debut feature Paanch remained unreleased, and Black Friday, made in 2004, wasn’t released until 2007.
Kashyap revealed that people around him were urging him to quit filmmaking due to the difficulties he faced in getting his movies released.
Anurag Kashyap Reveals How Story Of ‘No Smoking’ Came To His Mind
Speaking to the Indian Express, Kashyap recalled how he had three films in the same year: Black Friday, No Smoking, and Return of Hanuman. Desperate to make any film, he accepted an offer from Vishal Bhardwaj to produce a film after the success of Omkara.
During this period, John Abraham reached out to him after being encouraged by Deepa Mehta, who suggested he work with Kashyap following their collaboration on Water.
Kashyap was in a dire financial situation when he received John’s call. He immediately decided to meet the actor, even though he was travelling in a rickshaw at the time. On his way to John’s residence, he began brainstorming a new idea for a film, reflecting on how people perceived John as a bad actor despite having never seen his films.
John Abraham REJECTED A Film About Struggling Actor, Liked No Smoking’s Story
The story of No Smoking had been on Kashyap’s mind as it paralleled his own life. However, he conceived a new story about a struggling actor, which he shared with John upon meeting him. John’s response was straightforward: “People already think I am a bad actor, why do you want me to do this film? Do you have something else where I can perform?”
Surprisingly, John liked the idea of No Smoking. Despite Kashyap having the entire story in his head and not on paper, John decided to take a chance on him.
He provided Kashyap with the necessary funds to write the script. Kashyap then travelled to the US, where he wrote No Smoking and Return of Hanuman. Upon his return, Vishal Bhardwaj offered to produce the film, and Kashyap decided to go ahead with No Smoking.
His Film About ‘Bad Actor’ Was Then Released As ‘Ugly’ in 2013
The concept of the “bad actor” who struggles to make a career eventually became the basis for Kashyap’s 2013 film Ugly, written during that memorable rickshaw ride to John Abraham’s house.
Ugly featured a stellar cast including Rahul Bhat, Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Vineet Kumar Singh, Girish Kulkarni, and Surveen Chawla.
Anurag Kashyap’s Latest Web Series Bad Cop Streaming On OTT
The filmmaker has taken up acting and is currently seen in Disney Plus Hotstar’s Bad Cop, where he plays the role of a gangster, starring alongside Gulshan Devaiah, Harleen Sethi, and Saurabh Sachdeva.
Stay tuned with us for latest news, Hindi box office news, Hollywood news, OTT news, latest bollywood news and latest box office news.
