Anurag Kashyap says Netflix shelving Maximum City led to heart attack, heavy drinking and rehab amid devastating grief

Anurag Kashyap says Netflix shelving Maximum City led to heart attack, heavy drinking and rehab amid devastating grief

• Anurag Kashyap faced health issues after Netflix dropped his project
• He called the project's loss a "miscarriage" due to deep grief.
• Friends' support and therapy aided his recovery and work return.

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Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has opened up about the personal and physical toll he suffered after Netflix unexpectedly dropped his long-in-the-works adaptation of Maximum City, saying the setback triggered a heart attack, spiralling alcohol use and a stint in rehabilitation.

Anurag Kashyap made the revelations in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, describing how the project’s cancellation left him in a deep state of grief that affected both his health and mental well-being.

Anurag said he had been attached to the adaptation of Suketu Mehta’s 2004 book Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found since 2009, and was initially thrilled when Netflix green-lit the project, for which he wrote an extensive 900-page script.

However, a prolonged silence from the platform — with no clear communication for about 18 months — followed by a sudden shelving of the project left him devastated. He likened the loss to a “miscarriage” because of the emotional and professional investment he had poured into it.

In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Anurag Kashyap said, "I was frustrated over Maximum City because the amount of investment in it was so much."

He continued, "I have been attached to Maximum City since 2009. It was greenlit by Netflix. I told them, 'Please read the book.' Nobody except one person on the team read the book. There was silence for one-and-a-half years, and no one came and told me 'it's not happening.' That was even more triggering."

Speaking of how it impacted him mentally and physically, Anurag revealed, "In that grieving, I had a heart attack. I was on blood thinners. A vaccine reacted badly. I got asthma, so I was on steroids. My mind was buzzing, and I started drinking and ordering from Zomato all the time. My drinking got very bad."

Furthermore, he added, "I went to rehab to fix myself-and I fixed myself." He realised that he was grieving after he went to therapy. He said, "When you invest so much time, it becomes your baby. It was a miscarriage."

Also read:  Anurag Kashyap declares his crime drama ‘Nishaanchi’ a visual superior to Hollywood epic: ‘Better than Sinners’

With support from his family and friends, including filmmaker Zoya Akhtar, who encouraged him back into work by offering a role in Made in Heaven, Anurag has gradually rebuilt his life and creative drive.