Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is one of the latest names to appear in unverified US government files on American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as per reports.
In the documents, Kashyap is reportedly referred to as the ‘Bollywood guy’ and ‘a famous Bollywood director’.
As per the documents, the authenticity of which hasn’t been independently verified by The Telegraph Online, Kashyap agreed to attend an event connected to Epstein in Beijing in 2017.
The 53-year-old filmmaker, however, broke his silence during a recent interview with Hindustan Times. “I’ve no clue about this. I get invitations as a speaker, about 15 a month. I rarely respond. Also, I have never been to Beijing in my life,” he said.
Adding that the nature of the documents is dubious, the Gangs of Wasseypur director cheekily said, “It’s some random email, that’s self explanatory. The clickbaits in my name are more popular than my films.”
Kashyap is currently awaiting the release of his film Kennedy on ZEE5. The thriller follows an insomniac former police officer, presumed dead, who continues to operate within a corrupt system while secretly seeking redemption.
Presented by Zee Studios and produced by Good Bad Films, Kennedy stars Rahul Bhat and Sunny Leone in lead roles, with Mohit Takalkar, Abhilash Thapliyal and Megha Burman appearing in key roles.
Kashyap is not the only Indian celebrity to pop up on the notorious Epstein files. Besides him, filmmaker Mira Nair, who is also the mother of recently-elected NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani, and actor-director Nandita Das have been named in the controversial documents.
The catch-all term ‘Epstein files’ refers to court documents, records and evidence linked to Jeffrey Epstein that have been made public over time. These particularly include the unsealed documents from a 2015 civil lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, which were released in early 2024.
The files include emails, depositions, contact lists and names of powerful individuals who were mentioned in testimony related to Epstein’s sex-trafficking network. However, many references are unverified claims.
The newly-released documents, disclosed by the Justice Department of the US government last week, also name PM Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and British billionaire Richard Branson.
After the new names surfaced, Bill Gates said he “regrets” ever knowing Epstein while his former wife Melinda French Gates publicly alluded to a “muck” in their marriage and revealed that the association with the deceased child sex offender caused large-scale trouble in their relationship.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019.