Anurag Kashyap says Netflix ghosted him after submitting a 900-page script, claiming ‘Ted Sarandos doesn’t understand India’

Anurag Kashyap has spoken out about his frustration with Netflix, explaining why he’s distanced himself from its producers and team. In an interview with The Juggernaut, he revealed that he spent 18 months writing a 900-page handwritten script for a Netflix series based on Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found — only to be ghosted by the platform.

“I was with that book for 21 years,” Kashyap said, describing how deeply he invested in the adaptation. When the project stalled and he received no communication from Netflix, he fell ill from the stress and felt emotionally crushed. “Somebody just to save their jobs put it aside… it breaks you.”

Kashyap also challenged Netflix to write just ten pages by hand to understand his creative process. He criticized the platform’s leadership — specifically mentioning Ted Sarandos — and said they don’t truly understand India, accusing them of echoing “s\*\*\*ty” television practices and overcharging for content. “Somebody’s one-and-a-half years of work… was disregarded,” he said.

He added that Netflix didn’t even have the courtesy to tell him the project was being dropped. “They didn’t even have the courage to walk up and say, ‘We’re not doing it.’”

Meanwhile, Kashyap recently served as executive producer on Karan Tejpal’s debut feature Stolen. His own film Kennedy is still awaiting its release date in India, and he’s appeared on-screen in Rifle Club and Viduthalai Part 2.