A heated exchange unfolded between filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and television producer Ekta Kapoor after comments were made about the kind of content that appeals to Indian audiences. The discussion began when Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos reflected on the platform’s India launch, saying that starting with the crime thriller Sacred Games may not have been the best choice. He suggested that it might have been more effective to wait for a couple of years and instead begin with content that was more accessible and widely appealing to the Indian audience.
Ted Sarandos explained in a podcast that while Sacred Games was a high-quality show featuring major movie stars, it was also quite new in style and tone for many viewers in India. He felt that launching with something more mainstream could have helped Netflix gain a stronger initial foothold in the country. He added that although it took time to understand what would work in India, the long-term growth potential of the market remains exciting.
Anurag Kashyap, who co-created Sacred Games, strongly disagreed with Ted Sarandos’ take. Taking to Instagram, Kashyap mocked the idea of using traditional family-based serials, sarcastically suggesting that Netflix would have done better had it launched with “saas-bahu” shows. He also took a direct shot at Ted Sarandos, calling him the “definition of dumb”, and expressed his frustration at what he saw as a lack of understanding of storytelling by technology-driven executives.
Ekta Kapoor, known for her vast library of popular family dramas on Indian television, didn’t take Anurag Kashyap’s remarks kindly. She criticised his response, calling it elitist and dismissive of a genre that has long resonated with the masses. Without naming him directly, she accused certain artists of pretending to support inclusivity while actually looking down on content that appeals to a broader Indian audience. She pointed out that family dramas have played a significant role in giving Indian women a platform and voice, something supported by academic studies, including one from a university in Chicago.
Ekta went on to urge for a more democratic attitude within the creative industry, encouraging artists to abandon the belief that some forms of storytelling are superior to others. She suggested that fairness and humility are more important than projecting oneself as more cultured or intelligent.
Here is what Ekta Kapoor wrote, “Ur so dumb… saying this put u on an advantage ‘I’m smarter cooler’ but naaaaaaaa! Darling how about gracious!!! N self aware?????? An art a lot of artists don’t have! ‘Saas bahu’ n their impact on Indian masses (how women got a voice in mass India) is well documented by a prestigious Chicago research! But artists who talk of an inclusive world are actually more classist.”
She added, “We must do away with this ‘U can’t sit with us we r better’ attitude for democracy n fair play! Love n light to all.”
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