Anurag Kashyap Slams Netflix: “You Took Away CID & The Kapil Sharma Show From People—Playing the Mass Game at a Premium Cost”

Renowned filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has publicly blasted Netflix’s India operations, accusing the streaming giant of shifting away from its original “brave, premium” identity to something he describes as “massy” at a premium cost. He specifically claimed that Netflix has “snatched” popular free-to-air TV shows such as CID, The Kapil Sharma Show and Crime Patrol from their free‐to‐view audiences and repackaged them behind a paywall.

During a podcast conversation, Kashyap detailed his disillusionment with Netflix, describing it as an environment that “controlled every aspect of filmmaking — the cast, the story, everything” and as such he stepped away. He said many other filmmakers unwilling to compromise have done the same.

He contrasted Netflix’s model with other OTT platforms (which he says don’t pretend to be “elite”), pointing out that some services offer free access. His core critique: Why should people pay a subscription for shows they used to watch for free on TV? He argued the platform has effectively taken mass audience content and repackaged it as premium, which he believes is contradictory and unsustainable.

His precise words:

“Here you need a subscription amount, and then after a point they take Kapil Sharma, Crime Patrol, and CID — things people already watched for free on television. You have snatched it from the audience and are now asking them to pay for it. You want to play massy game at a premium cost.”

Kashyap’s critique enters a broader debate in India’s digital entertainment ecosystem:

• The tension between premium streaming content versus mass-market general entertainment.

• How legacy free-to-view TV content is being migrated into subscription models.

• The implications for filmmakers who seek creative freedom but find themselves constrained by platform-driven commercial formulas.