A decade after the release of Bombay Velvet, director Anurag Kashyap has candidly opened up about how the film’s failure affected his relationship with its lead actors, Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.

In a recent interview with Screen, the acclaimed filmmaker revealed that following the box-office debacle of his 2015 film, he had resolved never to collaborate with the two actors again. Kashyap shared that the experience was emotionally draining for everyone involved, especially Ranbir Kapoor, who still feels uncomfortable discussing the film.

“I think Ranbir was very upset, and he keeps saying, ‘Why do you keep talking about Bombay Velvet? Just ignore it. The film didn’t work, it didn’t work, but you don’t have to talk about it all the time,’” Kashyap said. He added that while Kapoor prefers to move on, he is frequently asked about the film in interviews, making it difficult to completely avoid the topic.

Kashyap also spoke about the emotional distance that developed between him and the lead actors after the film’s failure. Recalling that phase, he admitted he struggled to face them. “We don’t meet often. Whenever we do, we just hug and greet each other. Initially, I didn’t know how to face them because they had given me a lot of trust and love. I was dealing with my own demons at the time,” he said. The filmmaker explained that he chose to retreat and focus on making a smaller, more personal film like Raman Raghav 2.0, which further contributed to the growing distance over time.

Adding an unusual insight, Kashyap revealed that post-release research uncovered a surprising reason behind the audience’s rejection of the film. According to him, viewers disliked Ranbir Kapoor’s hairstyle in the movie. Calling it a “weird” reason, Kashyap clarified that curling Kapoor’s hair was a conscious creative decision made to suit the period setting.

Bombay Velvet was a neo-noir period crime drama based on Mumbai Fables, a book by historian Gyan Prakash. The film starred Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, and Karan Johar in lead roles, with Kay Kay Menon, Vivaan Shah, Siddhartha Basu, and Manish Choudhary in supporting roles.

As per Sacnilk, the film was made on a reported budget of ₹115 crore but managed to collect only ₹43.71 crore worldwide and ₹23.71 crore domestically, sealing its fate as one of Bollywood’s most high-profile box-office failures.