Anurag Kashyap opened up about his decade-long relationship with Shubhra Shetty, who is 20 years his junior.
Kashyap, previously married to Aarti Bajaj and Kalki Koechlin, revealed that shared interests in books, movies, and festivals bonded him and Shetty.
The director admitted he tried to push Shetty away at one point due to growing conscious of their physical age gap.
Anurag Kashyap Opens Up About 20-Year Age Gap With Shubhra Shetty: 'Tried To Push Her Away'
Shubhra Shetty shared that her parents initially had justified concerns about her dating a twice-married older man with a child.
Summary
Anurag Kashyap, 53, has confronted his relationship anxieties. Speaking to Janice Sequira, the filmmaker opened up about his decade-long partnership with Shubhra Shetty, who is two decades younger than him. Kashyap, whose marriages to Aarti Bajaj and Kalki Koechlin previously drew public scrutiny, addressed the persistent criticism over their age gap.
Overcoming age gap insecurities
Kashyap shared his struggle with self-consciousness during the earlier stages of their relationship. He explained that shared cultural interests brought them together. "Our bond was books, movies, festivals. She goes to more festivals than me," Kashyap told Sequira.
"We’ve had our share of troubles. Shaming nahi, but self-conscious. At one point, I had become so conscious that I tried to push her away. Her face doesn’t look her age. So, the more I grew old and she kept looking the same, that’s why I was so conscious," Kashyap added.
He realised the depth of his feelings during the Covid-19 lockdown. "Our generation never spoke about our trauma. Zindagi mein, you know what you want, but you’re testing the other person; you’re also testing yourself at the same time. You want to be certain that this is not going away," he said.
This commitment solidified later. "Though we’ve been together for 11 years, in my head, I fully knew that this is it when she spent an entire shoot of Nishaanchi on the set. For me to come to this stage where I have my own realisation and to admit it to myself took a long time."
Family reactions and acceptance
Shetty also shared her perspective on how her family initially reacted to the relationship. "My mother now thinks he’s like a henpecked husband," Shetty told Sequira.
"But initially, if I were a parent and my 20-year-old daughter was dating a 40-something-year-old man who is twice married, has a kid, rumoured to be a lot of other things, how would you? I think my parents did a pretty good job," she added.
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Anurag Kashyap's work front
Kashyap's last film was Bandar, starring Bobby Deol.
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