Around a decade ago, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap shared pictures with his girlfriend Shubhra Shetty on social media, leading to dating speculations. Now, in a recent interview with Janice Sequeira, the couple has opened up about their relationship and 20-year age-gap for the first time. Anurag and Shubhra recalled their first date, how they fell in love with each other, and much more. They also revealed that their relationship was outed by a journalist years ago.

‘My mother calls him a bakra’

During a candid conversation while having lunch in their Bengaluru house, Shubhra shared that her romantic involvement with Anurag was disclosed by a journalist even though they wanted to stay away from the media glare. “I am in my 30s. We were trying to keep this low, but we were open. We went out with people to events and parties. I just didn’t want to be in the media. One nosy aunty, a boy, came looking for a scoop and actually found it. The scoop decided they didn’t want to be the scoop, so they outed us,” she said. While Anurag is 53, Shubhra is in her 30s.

When asked about her parents’ reaction to their daughter dating filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who is 20-years elder to her. “My mom calls him a bakra, because she said he is stupid enough to be with you. She thinks he is like a henpecked husband. My parents did a very good job. I didn’t convince them. They met him,” she said.

She continued, “It was his pre-Bombay Velvet release and post film shooting, he was in a very good phase. He was very fit, happy, reading books, and watching films. So, we bonded over all those things. He used to say that if I had met him a few years ago, I wouldn’t have dated him, but I don’t think that’s true. I caught him in that one little golden window, when he was at his best.”

‘Should’ve shifted to Bengaluru longtime back’

Anurag said Shubhra has visited his village in Uttar Pradesh. Anurag added, “She was clicking pictures of women of the village, sowing the seeds. She was visiting the village like a tourist. The place where food is actually made on a chulha. They were all so happy that he actually came to a family gathering.”

The couple always wanted to relocate to another city from Mumbai. While Shubhra had left the city in 2018-19, Anurag shifted much later. “It was her condition to come here. I resisted because I thought I was working and it will get sorted. But, eventually I realised that it wouldn’t. I came here last year, and since then, my depression is gone. I realised that I should have done this a long time back,” he said.

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Anurag Kashyap’s partner Shubhra Shetty used to work as an assistant director at Anurag’s production company, Phantom Films. This was during the period when the production company was still associated with Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Vikas Bahl and Madhu Mantena.

‘Shubhra was a Motwane fan’

“She was a Vikramaditya Motwane fan,” the filmmaker mentioned. Shubhra added that she had actually never watched any of Anurag’s films. “When he came to the office for the first time, I had only heard that he was a crazy person, a dark filmmaker. He was going to Paris, in a jacket and fancy glasses. He looked so funny. He was the most unserious person ever. I had joined Phantom 2-3 weeks ago, and he asked me, ‘What’s there for lunch?’ I remember thinking that he was eccentric,” she laughed.

Talking about their age gap, Anurag said, “I was very self conscious of the age difference. It was very obvious that I had a crush on her. She was not aware. I never used to go to the office before she wasn’t there. I wanted to invite her out, so I asked her to bring her friends,” he said. “So, our first date was my friends and his 13-year-old daughter, who he was chasing around,” she added.

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‘Anurag was sure about being in love with me’

When asked about who among the two said the three magical words. Shubhra smiled and revealed, “This is where the generation difference kicks in. He jumped in and told me that he was in love with me. I had a moment, but he said that he doesn’t expect anything from me because he has gone through life but I haven’t; I was still in my 20s, and had to see a lot. He was sure about being in love with me.”

They also spoke about managing the relationship while working together. “If you are dating someone within the office and you are the boss, everybody’s behaviour changes. Everything goes haywire. The office was really sweet, they were supportive and nice. We were transparent and open. He never did come to the office. He was a boss at the office, but he wasn’t my boss,” Shubhra said.

Anurag Kashyap’s previous marriages

Before his relationship with Shubhra Shetty, Anurag Kashyap was married to editor Aarti Bajaj. They got divorced in 2009 and have a daughter together – Aaliyah Kashyap. The filmmaker then married actor Kalki Koechlin in 2011. They parted ways after four years of marriage, in 2015.