Speaking at an event at Annapurna College of Film and Media, Anurag emphasized that he does not see himself as a producer but rather as an “enabler” who creates opportunities for others. “If I like a filmmaker and their idea, I tell them, ‘Use me to make your film.’ I don’t know how to produce, and I have never been on the set of a single film I have produced,” he revealed. “From Udaan onwards till now, I refuse to go on set.”
Anurag explained that his decision stems from a desire to respect a director’s creative process. As a filmmaker himself, he finds it difficult to suppress his instinct to intervene, which could stifle a director’s unique voice. “The director in you never dies. If you start interfering, you risk killing their vision. You can’t stop being a filmmaker,” he said.
He further shared that he observed Ram Gopal Varma making this very mistake at his production house. “Ramu ji had five films in production at the same time. He could only direct two himself and would ask others to make the remaining three, but he micromanaged them. I don’t want to repeat those mistakes,” Anurag concluded.
