Vikas Bahl & I Are Not on Talking Terms: Anurag Kashyap

Phantom Films was founded by Kashyap, Motwane, Bahl & Mantena.

Anurag Kashyap speaks up about his estranged friend and co-founder of Phantom Films. 

(Photo: Yogen Shah)

When filmmaker and co-founder Vikas Bahl was accused of molestation by a female employee (which he denied) in Phantom Films last year, Anurag Kashyap allegedly had a fallout with him. Known to be best of friends, the two have not been speaking since the past 17 months, as revealed by Kashyap to Pinkvilla.

The production house that gave us films like Lootera, Queen, Ugly and backed filmmakers like Navdeep Singh & Neeraj Ghaywan was founded by Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Madhu Mantena and Vikas Bahl in 2011.

He opened up about parting ways with Bahl to Pinkvilla. He said, “My stand on this is the same as it was back then. Vikas works in the company, he is a partner and nothing against him has been proven. But mutually, we’ve decided that we will work separately, in separate premises. Vikas and I are not on talking terms; everything else is a rumour...I don’t feel the need to sort anything out, because no one came forward to say or prove anything, at that time.”

Kashyap went on to say that they will continue making films together but he also clarified that there was no point in making him uncomfortable and hence they would continue to work in different set-ups. Kashyap has reportedly stopped working out of the Phantom office in Aaram Nagar.

The next Phantom Films’ release Manmarziyaan, directed by Kashyap is set to release on 14 September. Vikas Bahl’s next directorial is the Hrithi Roshan starrer Super 30.