Explained - Anurag Kashyap's Phule controversy: From his brutal remarks against Brahmins to an apology, all you need to know

Director Anurag Kashyap recently faced a huge backlash over his controversial remarks about the Brahmin community. However, he issued an apology today (April 22) for hurting the sentiments of the Brahmin community, but he has already faced the consequences.

Here's a detailed timeline of Anurag Kashyap’s controversy following his anti-Brahmin remarks.

CBFC halts Ananth Mahadevan’s film Phule

Director Ananth Mahadevan’s film Phule, based on the life of social reformer couple Jyotirao Govindrao Phule and Savitribai Phule, was all set to release on April 11.

However, the trailer sparked outrage among the viewers over its portrayal of caste, with some people demanding a ban on the film.

The protest postponed the release of the film, with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) asking the makers for several edits, particularly involving caste references. The edited version of the film is now scheduled to premiere on April 25.

Anurag Kashyap expresses his frustration

Soon after the CBFC reportedly asked for modifications to the film, Phule, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap took to his social media and spoke against the objections raised, particularly from the Brahmin community.

He wrote, “Meri zindagi ka pehla natak Jyotiba aur Savitribai Phule pe tha. Bhai, agar casteism nahin hota is desh mein toh unko kya zaroorat thi ladne ki? (The first play I ever did in my life was on Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule.). If casteism didn’t exist in this country, why would they have needed to fight against it?”

He continued to be critical about the Brahmin community and also called the ‘system rigged.’

He added, “My question is, when the film goes for censoring, there are four members on the board. How the f*** do the groups and the wings get access to films until and unless they are given access to them? The whole f****** system is rigged.”

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A post shared by Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap10)

Anurag Kashyap’s post received huge backlash from social media users. However, he responded to a comment, which later led to two apology letters and several FIRs.

One user commented on his post by stating that Brahmins are his father. The comment read: “Brahmins tumhare baap hain….”

However, the director responded to the comment and wrote, “Brahmin pe main m*******a. Koi problem? (I will urinate on Brahmins. Any problem?)”

Anurag Kashyap continues the controversy

Anurag Kashyap shared the screenshot of his comment on his Instagram story on April 18 and just doubled down on the controversy.

He wrote, “Jawab toh sab ne padh liya… outrage bhi kar hi rahe haain… aag laga rakhi hai… Context bhi dekh likh lo darpokon… (Everyone has read the answer… people are also posting… It has sparked a fire… You cowards, look at the context and write it down.”

The filmmaker received a brutal backlash all over social media following his back-to-back controversial comments. His family also notably received death and rape threats.

He took to his Instagram Story and wrote, “This is my apology, not for my post but for that one line taken out of context and the brewing hatred. No action or speech is worth your daughter, family, friends, and colleagues getting rape and death threats from the kingpins of sanskar."

The filmmaker added, “I won't take back what I said. Abuse me all you want. My family didn't say anything. If you want an apology, here it is.”

FIR registered

Anurag Kashyap faced a series of FIRs following the controversy. An FIR was registered against him at the Bajaj Nagar police station, lodged by Anil Chaturvedi, a Barkat Nagar resident, on Saturday night.

The complainant alleged that the director posted abusive words about Brahmins while replying to a social media user.

Meanwhile, a second complaint was registered by Varanasi resident Govind Chaturvedi, who alleged that the filmmaker had deeply hurt the sentiments of the Brahmin community with his derogatory remarks.

Anurag Kashyap gets booked

Following the controversial remark and the FIRs, Anurag Kashyap was booked under Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 67 (punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.

MG Road PS In charge Vijay Singh Sisodia informed news agency ANI, "Anoop Shukla has filed a case against film director Anurag Kashyap for hurting the social and religious sensibilities of the Brahmin community and making inappropriate statements." The investigation is currently underway." Advocate Ashish Rai, a lawyer, has also asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to take action against Anurag.

Manoj Muntashir slams Anurag

Noted writer Manoj Muntashir also took to his X account and told Anurag in a video post, "If you have less income, then you have to control your expenses, and if you have less knowledge, then you have to control your words. Anurag Kashyap, you have less income and less knowledge, so control both."

"You don't have enough water in your body to pollute the entire legacy of Brahmins," he further said.

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A post shared by Manoj Muntashir Shukla (@manojmuntashir)

Anurag Kashyap issues an official apology

Anurag Kashyap took to his X account and issued an official apology letter accepting that he forgot his “maryada (limit).” The filmmaker penned the apology in Hindi.

The filmmaker wrote, “In anger, I forgot my limits while replying to someone. And I spoke badly about the entire Brahmin community. That community, whose many people have been in my life, is still there and contributes a lot.”

He continued, “Today all of them are hurt by me. My family is hurt by me. Many intellectuals, whom I respect, are hurt by my anger and my way of speaking.”

Anurag continued, “By saying such a thing, I myself deviated from my own point of view. I sincerely apologize to this society, to whom I did not want to say this but wrote it in anger while responding to someone's cheap comment.”

“I apologize to all my friends, my family, and the society for my way of speaking and for the abusive language,” he apologised.

The post continued, “Now I will work on it so that this does not happen again. I will work on my anger. And if I have to talk about the issue, I will use the right words.”

He concluded the apology saying, “I hope you will forgive me.”

Changes in Phule asked by CBFC, and its release

On April 7, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) issued a 'U' certificate to the authors of Phule, requesting that they make changes such as deleting language like 'Mang,' 'Mahar,' and 'Peshwai.'

The image of "man with a broom" was substituted with "boys throwing cow dung at Savitribai," and the words "3000 saal purani gulami" were changed to "Kai saal purani."

After the Phule trailer was uploaded online on April 10, some members of the Brahmin community voiced reservations over the film's image of their people.

Also Read: Anurag Kashyap issues public apology for making remarks on Brahmin Community, says, "Main gusse mein Maryada bhool gaya"

It was planned to be released on April 11, but will now be in cinemas on April 25. The film is directed by Ananth Mahadevan and stars Pratik Gandhi (Jyotirao Govindrao Phule) and Patralekhaa (Savitribai Phule).