Filmmakers rarely applaud each other's work — but Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee are all praises for each other. After watching Shanghai, Kashyap has declared it is the best film he has ever watched and Banerjee is the country's best director.
"It's a film that should be made compulsory for everybody to watch. This is the most powerful and the best film I have seen in a long time," Kashyap said here Thursday at a special screening of Shanghai.
"Dibakar Banerjee is the best filmmaker in the country.
Period, There is no scope for discussion on this," he added. Shanghai, featuring Abhay Deol, Emraan Hashmi and Kalki Koechlin in prominent roles, focuses on politics and corruption.
Kashyap even took to Twitter after the film's screening and called it a "visceral, stunning and ballsiest film ever made in this country".
Banerjee, who has earlier helmed projects like Khosla Ka Ghosla and Love Sex Aur Dhokha, believes Kashyap is an inspiring filmmaker.
"Anurag is too generous and I also think that probably because Anurag is around in the scene and he makes it so exciting and at the same time encouraging is what gives other filmmakers the guts to actually go ahead and do what they are doing," he said.
"It's very exciting to have someone like Anurag around because you kind of get excited to do more exciting stuff," he added. Kashyap's two-part series Gangs of Wasseypur received critical acclaim at the recently concluded 65th Cannes International Film Festival.
The movie is now set for premiere at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, to be held in Singapore June 7-9.