'Kennedy came from me when I was in a very dark place': Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap

"Kennedy came out of me when I was in a very dark space, and the cinematic impact of reading a lot of Jean Patrick Manchette and French graphic novels at that time could be seen in my film Kennedy," said Khasyap.

Kennedy, which stars Rahul Bhat and Sunny Leone in the lead, premiered in a number of international film festivals including Cannes Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival.

It was also screened at the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) here in December last year.

Talking about the French New Wave (a French art film movement in the 1950's), Khashyap disclosed how the work of French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville impacted him and his movie 'Kennedy.'

Expressing his views on Bengali cinema, he feels that Bengali cinema has deteriorated since its golden age.

"It started with the remaking of bad mainstream Telugu influences. It is happening across the world, but in this case the fall was greater because it fell from a great height, i.e., from the era of grandmasters in all artforms, from films, literature, poetry, painting, and theatre," said the 'Kennedy' director.

"I feel it is important to ensure that more films from literature are adapted," said Kashyap, talking about the commerce dictating the industry.

"Mrinal Da (director Mirnal Sen) wouldn't have survived today's era of filmmaking. Arthouse films are struggling across the world; now it is the comedies that work."

Alliance Française du Bengale and Nandan, West Bengal Film Centre, in association with the Consulate General of France in Kolkata, held the very first edition of the French Film Festival Kolkata.

(Reporting by Ayush Gupta)