Not Just Kalki Or Aaliyah: 5 Women Who Played A Major Role In Anurag Kashyap’s Life And Career

Anurag Kashyap has built a career around unconventional stories and fiercely independent characters, but the filmmaker has often made one thing clear about his own life: women have played a major role in shaping him. Over the years, Kashyap has spoken openly about the women who influenced his choices, challenged his thinking and helped him through difficult phases.

In fact, in a 2013 interaction, the filmmaker said that the women in his life had “controlled” him completely, adding that he had followed their advice from his mother and wife to his daughter.  Here are five women whose presence has been particularly significant in Anurag Kashyap’s life.

1. Anurag Kashyap’s mother: The foundation behind his journey

Kashyap has spoken with gratitude about his parents and the importance they placed on education. In a heartfelt post about his parents, he recalled how his mother completed her graduation after marriage and later pursued post-graduation while raising him.

He credited his parents’ determination to educate him as one of the forces that eventually allowed him to pursue cinema, even when filmmaking was not considered a conventional career choice.

2. Aarti Bajaj: His first wife and creative collaborator

Film editor Aarti Bajaj was Kashyap’s first wife and the mother of his daughter, Aaliyah. The two were married before eventually separating.

Their professional connection also remained important. Bajaj has edited several of Kashyap’s films, making their association extend well beyond their marriage. Years after their divorce, Kashyap publicly described Aarti and Kalki Koechlin as his “two pillars”, sharing a picture with both women in 2022.

3. Kalki Koechlin: The woman he said changed his life

Kashyap married actor Kalki Koechlin in 2011 after they worked together on Dev.D. Although their marriage ended in divorce in 2015, Kashyap has spoken warmly about her influence. In 2015, while discussing their separation, he said Kalki had “really changed my life” and described their relationship with respect.

Their relationship has also evolved with time. Kalki attended Aaliyah’s wedding in 2024 and later explained that she considers Aaliyah a part of her life even after moving on from her relationship with Kashyap.

4. Aaliyah Kashyap: The daughter who changed his perspective

Aaliyah has perhaps had one of the most personal influences on Kashyap. The filmmaker has openly credited his daughter with helping him understand a younger generation and look at several issues differently. In an interview, he said Aaliyah had “worked very hard on me”, helping him understand things he had never viewed in the same way before. He also credited her and her mother Aarti for shaping him as a father.

During one of his difficult phases, Kashyap also revealed that Aaliyah helped him confront his problems, including his relationship with alcohol, and encouraged him towards therapy.

5. Taapsee Pannu: A trusted friend beyond their films

Taapsee Pannu is another woman who has shared a long professional association with Kashyap. Their collaborations include Manmarziyaan and Dobaaraa, but their equation has also extended beyond their films.

During the controversy surrounding allegations against Kashyap in 2020, Taapsee publicly defended him and described him as a friend and a filmmaker who championed strong women.

A life shaped by strong women

From the woman who helped lay the foundation of his life to those who became collaborators, family and friends, Kashyap’s own accounts suggest that women have consistently challenged and influenced him.

It perhaps explains why strong, complicated and unapologetic women occupy such an important place in his cinema too. As Kashyap himself once said, his “education from women” shaped his evolution, both personally and creatively.