Kanu Behl slams multiplexes for sidelining Agra ahead of release, says, "we’re being denied shows”

Kanu Behl slams multiplexes for sidelining Agra ahead of release, says, "we’re being denied shows”

Kanu Behl’s ‘Agra’ should have been entering its final stretch with quiet confidence. The film has travelled from Cannes to global festivals, earned critical praise, and built a reputation as one of the boldest Indian dramas of recent years.

Instead, as its domestic release approaches, the director is fighting a very different battle: getting his film on screens. The clash is no longer about content, censorship, or marketing. It’s about access. And Behl has decided to call it out publicly.

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The filmmaker took to X to express his frustration, accusing multiplex chains of denying shows to Agra in favour of what he described as “so called blockbusters.”

In a pointed message, he wrote, “We’re being denied shows because of the so called big blockbusters and because small films don’t fit into multiplex chain programming. It’s up to you the audience now! Speak up and tag the chains. Say that you want to see the film!”

He followed it with a sharper warning: “Spread the word. Or this will just go on and on. And the space for anything else other than mindless infantilised cinema will disappear.”

Karan Behl’s concern taps into an older, unresolved tension. Independent films often find themselves at the mercy of weekly box-office cycles, with multiplexes prioritising high-budget commercial releases even when smaller films have strong reviews or festival runs.

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Agra is hardly an obscure indie. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight section on May 24, 2023, where it stood out for its stark exploration of loneliness, male sexuality, and the psychological fractures hidden inside everyday life.

Critics praised Behl for crafting a narrative that is both intimate and unsettling, a look into desires that rarely make it to mainstream screens.

Led by Mohit Agarwal, the cast includes Priyanka Bose, Rahul Roy, Devas Dixit, Ruhani Sharma, Vibha Chibber, Sonal Jha, and Aanchal Goswami. The story follows Guru, a young call centre worker trapped in a stagnant home life. Caught between dating app fantasies, unmet desires, and emotional claustrophobia, his slow descent into a psychological breakdown forms the film’s disturbing core.

Before Cannes, Agra was selected for the NFDC Film Bazaar in 2022, where early viewers already recognised its thematic sharpness and brave, uncomfortable storytelling.

Despite international acclaim, its Indian release, scheduled for November 21, 2025, now finds itself overshadowed by the struggle for screens. Behl’s message leaves no ambiguity: if Agra is to survive this clash with multiplex programming, the audience must step in.