Anurag Kashyap is one of the most influential Indian filmmakers of the current generation. He is one of the few Indian directors who have always had authorship in his films. We all know that Gangs of Wasseypur is a classic that won him a lot of praise all over the world. Gangs of Wasseypur is undoubtedly a milestone in the Indian film industry. Epic revenge saga, which cannot be missed at any cost. So there shouldn’t be much comment on that. Just check it out, if you haven’t. But he has always been known as a rebellious filmmaker who tried hard to revolutionize the Hindi film industry. He succeeded or not, that’s a different debate but in that rebellion, he gave us films that can be put on any great list of cinema. So here I will tell you about some such films, which according to me is Anurag Kashyap’s best film or you can say these are his signature films.
1. Ugly
Based on a true incident and personal guilt, Ugly is Anurag Kashyap’s finest film. A broken marriage, conflicting ambitions, a crazy father, a kidnapped daughter, and ugly greed. These elements in the film’s plot make Ugly a personal classic of mine. It’s dark and gripping. This film always leaves something in your heart that will always sting you. It is a must-see.
2. Black Friday
A great Anurag Kashyap film. Based on the book by Hussain Zaidi, Black Friday questions the most important political and disastrous events of independent India. The film is downright political, takes the name straight. Anurag Kashyap’s guerilla-style shooting on real locations makes the film authentic. Kay Kay Menon, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Pawan Malhotra played pivotal roles with great ease. Indian Ocean’s music and Piyush Mishra’s lyrics add to the film. It is one of the most important films in his filmography.
3. Gulal
Power fight, injustice and politics. The film is a masterpiece. The film largely takes inspiration from Sahir Ludhianvi’s song Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaye To Kya Haiā¦. The character of Piyush Mishra has great artistic and political symbolism. It makes heavy use of the dynamics of political theater which is commendable. Songs like Aarambh Hai Prachanda… have a cult following among the Indian youth. The ensemble cast gives strength to the story of the film. This is a film that you cannot miss.
There are other films like DEVD, the modern adaptation of Devdas which was a milestone in Kashyap’s career. If you are tired of the gorgeous, grand and loud Devdas, then this is a great alternative. Anurag has made many films but according to me these films make him who he is now. If you have a list of autistic filmmakers like Jean Luc Goddard, Anurag Kashyap will make it to that list.