Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap in a recent interview shared his thoughts on the recent inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, describing it as an 'advertisement' for the current state of affairs in the country.
During an event in Kolkata, he was asked about his thoughts on the inauguration, “What happened on January 22 was an advertisement. That’s how I see it. Like the kind of advertisements that play between the news, this was a 24-hour ad. One of the key reasons why I am an atheist is because I was born in Varanasi. I was born in the city of religion, I’ve seen the business of religion very closely. You call it the Ram Mandir, but it was never a Ram Mandir. It was Ram Lalla’s temple, and the entire country can’t tell the difference.”
“Someone one said, ‘Religion is the last resort of the scoundrel’. When you have nothing left to give, you turn towards religion. I’ve always called myself an atheist because I saw growing up, hopeless people would go to temples to ask for salvation like there’s some kind of button that they could push and erase all their problems… What is the reason why there are no movements," he added.
He also went on to add in the end, "Today, the fight is not for freedom. It’s against fascism posturing as democracy."
Kashyap is known for directing Gangs of Wasseypur and Bombay Velvet. He also recently made Doobaara.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)