Gangs of Wasseypur director Anurag Kashyap has strongly denied any links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein because his name appeared in unsealed documents from the US Department of Justice, which were released in February 2026. The acclaimed director dismissed the mention as a “random email” and described the viral screenshots and headlines as “clickbait” created by creators to produce sensational content.
The claim that Kashyap was connected to a 2017 Beijing event is false because he stated that he had never been to Beijing. The filmmaker receives about 15 invitations each month to speak at international events, but he does not respond to or accept them.
He suggested his name may have been included merely as a potential invitee without his knowledge or consent. The documents, which form part of a three-million-page release under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, contain emails between Epstein and his associates which mention a “Bollywood guy” or “famous Bollywood director. The parties involved in these emails discussed potential guests who would attend workshops and cultural events on Buddhism, technology, and medicine in Shanghai and Mexico.
The internal communications, which include people’s names, have no connection to criminal activity and do not demonstrate any relationship between those people and Epstein, according to legal experts and media outlets. The correspondence includes the names of other important Indian personalities, including filmmakers Mira Nair and Nandita Das. Kashyap used his statement to end the online speculation that began after the document release because he wanted to show that being listed as a possible invitee does not mean someone took part in the event.
