Ektaa Kapoor hits back at Anurag Kashyap over ‘saas-bahu’ remark: ‘You are so dumb’

After Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said at a recent podcast that he was unsure of starting the streaming giant’s original programming in India with Sacred Games, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who was one of the creators of the series, was enraged. Anurag took to social media to slam Ted, calling him “dumb” and suggesting he should have rather started with “saas-bahu” shows. Now, producer Ektaa Kapoor, who recently tied up with Netflix and has been a creator of saas-bahu soaps in the past, has hit back at Anurag, calling him “dumb” and “classist”.

At a podcast with Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath, Ted had said, "Our very first Indian original show was Sacred Games. And I thought, ‘This is going to be great. People in India love movies. This is a TV show that feels as big as a movie; it has movie stars.’ What’s interesting about it is that it was very, very novel, but what I didn’t understand [was] that we were introducing a brand new kind of entertainment in a country the size of India."

He added, "For me, if I did it all over again, would I have done Sacred Games a couple of years later and done things that were more populist (instead)? Maybe. But we knew that India was going to be a slower journey to get to where we wanted to get to. But it’s a great prize, at the end of the day. The addressable market is growing in the next couple of years in India, so it’s exciting."

Reacting to this statement, Anurag took to his Instagram stories and wrote, "He should have started with Saas Bahu .. he would have done well. Which he is doing now. I always knew the tech guys are dumb when it comes to storytelling but Ted Sarandos is the definition of dumb, which is what I didn’t know. Good to discover that. This explains everything now."

Now, Ektaa also took to her stories and penned a long note, seemingly directed at Anurag, although he has not been named in it, "You are so dumb... saying this puts you at an advantage 'I'm smarter, cooler' but naaaaaaaa! Darling, how about gracious!!! and self-aware?????? An art that a lot of artists don't have! 'Saas bahu' and their impact on Indian masses (how women got a voice in mass India) is well documented by prestigious Chicago research!"

She added, "But artists who talk of an inclusive world are actually more classist. We must do away with this 'U can't sit with us, we're better' attitude for democracy and fair play! Love n light to all (sic)."

Recently, Ektaa’s Balaji Telefilms has joined hands with Netflix India for a long-term creative collaboration for a range of projects across different formats. As per a press release, the collaboration includes an untitled series, which is currently in advanced stages of development. More details about the projects are awaited.