‘Just a random mail’: Anurag Kashyap responds to Epstein Files controversy

Mumbai: Filmmaker and director Anurag Kashyap has recently reacted to the controversy surrounding the mention of his name in the Epstein files. He clearly said that this entire issue is being blown out of proportion and for him it is not a serious issue. According to Kashyap, his name came up only in the context of an email, which he considered to be nothing more than a normal or “random mail”. In a recent interview, he spoke openly on this subject and said that many people keep receiving such mails, hence it is wrong to link it to any special relationship.

What did Anurag Kashyap say?

Recently, during a conversation in an interview program, when he was asked about his name being mentioned in the Epstein files, he called it a very common incident. Kashyap said that his name had appeared only in one email and people across the world keep receiving such invitation mails from different places. Giving examples, he said that sometimes emails come from prestigious universities or international events, hence the existence of an email does not prove any kind of involvement.

Did he take this entire controversy lightly?

Responding to this issue, Anurag Kashyap said in a light-hearted manner that sometimes he himself is surprised when he reads such news. He jokingly said that sometimes he feels that his “company” looks much bigger than the big personalities with whom his name is associated. He said that he is not much worried about such news and he considers it all to be an exaggeration to a great extent.

What clarification did he give on the income tax raids in 2021?

During the interview, he was also asked about the Income Tax Department raid on his house in 2021. To this, Kashyap said that the action was mainly related to financial matters related to his old production company Phantom Films. He said that there were some technical issues regarding the division of the company and its valuation, the investigation of which led to this action. According to him, many things came to light at that time, but the matter was mainly related to business processes.

What was the controversy related to Phantom films?

Phantom Films was started in the year 2011 and it had Vikramaditya Motwane, Madhu Mantena and Vikas Bahl as partners along with Anurag Kashyap. After working together for about seven years, this production house was dissolved in 2018. Many popular and successful films were made under this banner, which include films like 'Queen', 'Masaan', 'Lootera' and 'Udta Punjab'. These films created a special recognition at the box office as well as among the critics.

What are the Epstein files and whose names have appeared in them?

Recently, the US Justice Department made public a list of documents related to the cases related to financial businessman Jeffrey Epstein. The names of about 300 people are said to be mentioned in these documents, which include many political leaders, businessmen and famous personalities. However, experts say that a name appearing in any document does not mean that the person concerned was involved in any illegal activity.