Anurag Kashyap’s latest directorial venture Bandar / Monkey in a Cage, starring Bobby Deol and Sanya Malhotra, has created quite a stir at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Screened at the prestigious festival, the film generated immense buzz and also trended on Twitter as #BANDARinTIFF. While the film is arriving as Anurag Kashyap’s most raw and bold film, producer Nikhil Dwivedi has an interesting story Anurag getting on board as a director.

When producer Nikhil Dwivedi was asked how the story came to him and how Anurag Kashyap came on board as a director, he shared, “I stumbled upon a piece of work which was written by someone. About this event that happened. This series of events that happened. Something moved me in it. I started to look for writers. Anurag is always usually the first choice for writing something. But he was already writing something with me. And I didn’t want to divert his attention. So I rushed to Sudeep Sharma to write it. He wrote something which was very interesting. I wanted Anurag to co-produce this film with me, actually. He read it and he said, I’m directing it. And who says no to Anurag then? So, yeah.”

Director Anurag Kashyap, known for cult classics like “Gangs of Wasseypur,” “Black Friday,” and “Ugly,” brings his signature raw storytelling style to this new project.

The film showcased Bobby Deol in an avatar like never seen before. Critics are hailing Bobby’s complete transformation and believe that this could be one of the finest performances of his career.

The film also has Sanya Malhotra in a pivotal role and has delivered a heart-rending performance. She has embodied her role with conviction, justifying her presence in this intense drama. Meanwhile, Saba Azad takes on the role of a young, fierce woman and portrays it with striking authenticity on screen. Sapna Pabbi is a revelation only to be experienced in the film and to talk about her role now may be giving too much away about the film. Wamiqa Gabbi will also be seen in the film, delivering yet another remarkable performance.

Actor, Producer Nikhil Dwivedi, who has backed this film continues his track record of backing uniquely different stories after Veere Di Wedding and CTRL. The film is written by Sudip Sharma & Abhishek Banerjee.