Anurag Kashyap Says Shelved Netflix Series Led To Heart Attack, Alcohol

India-West News Desk

MUMBAI- Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap says the cancellation of his planned streaming series Maximum City triggered a personal crisis that led to a heart attack and a stint in rehabilitation for alcohol use.

In an interview with Mid-Day, Kashyap said he had been developing the project based on Suketu Mehta’s book ‘Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found,’ for Netflix before the platform decided not to move forward with it.

Kashyap said he spent much of the COVID-19 lockdown writing the series after receiving initial approval from the streaming service.

He said he later discovered that executives who had approved the project had not read the book on which the show was based.

“It started with a lie,” Kashyap told the paper.

Kashyap added that severe asthma and steroid medication during the same period contributed to heavy drinking. His daughter eventually urged him to seek help, leading him to enter rehabilitation.

While in rehab, he said he suffered a ligament tear in his right leg that worsened before it was diagnosed. Surgery was not possible because he was taking blood thinners after the heart procedure.

Despite the experience, Kashyap said he has moved on. “I am very happy now. I have in my mind forgiven everyone,” he told Mid-Day.