#14YearsOfShaitan: Dark truths and untold stories from Bejoy Nambiar’s cult thriller

When Shaitan released in 2011, it signalled a bold departure from formulaic Bollywood, marking Bejoy Nambiar’s striking directorial debut.

With Anurag Kashyap backing it as producer, the film introduced a grungy, pulsating aesthetic that resonated with a new generation of cinephiles. As the film completes 14 years, here’s a look at some little-known stories from behind the scenes:

When ‘Shaitan’ hit theatres on June 10, 2011, it was unlike anything Bollywood had seen. Gritty, stylish, and pulsating with a raw, urban energy, Bejoy Nambiar’s debut feature film, backed by Anurag Kashyap, broke away from formula and ushered in a new wave of edgy indie cinema. While the film gained a cult following for its unique storytelling and visuals, there’s much about its making that remains under the radar.

As ‘Shaitan’ completes 14 years, we look back at some fascinating behind-the-scenes stories, near-misses, and creative risks that helped shape this unforgettable neo-noir crime thriller.

Almost dropped once, Gulshan Devaiah remained in the film, thanks to Anurag Kashyap:

KC (Karan Choudhary) was one of the earliest roles of Gulshan. As per reports, he initially auditioned for the role of inspector Arvind Mathur (played by Rajeev Khandelwal), but didn’t bag it since the makers weren’t looking for such a young cop.

The role eventually went to Rajeev, while Gulshan was roped in to play KC, one of the brattiest characters in the film. But later, there was a time when Gulshan was almost dropped from ‘Shaitan’ during its pre-production stage. In an old interview, the ‘Dahaad’ actor revealed that he was almost on the way out of the project, but it was Anurag who strongly backed him.

One of its most popular tracks almost didn’t make it to the film:

Apart from its gripping storyline, setting, projection, and of course, the performances, ‘Shaitan’ also gained popularity over its music. The album boasted about 14 tracks, of which some were modern-day renditions of old classic Hindi songs, while others were original compositions.

Among this was ‘Bali - The Sound of Shaitan’, which gained massive popularity with the masses for its peppy music. Interestingly, the song was not going to be part of the movie, for being too “experimental”, claimed reports. However, its composer, Prashant Pillar, and the director stood their ground clearly on including the track in the album.

Anurag agreed to produce ‘Shaitan’ because of ‘Reflections’:

Much before Anurag joined ‘Shaitan’ as its producer, Bejoy had approached another director, with whom it was to be made in English. However, since that didn’t work out, Bejoy approached Anurag, who had seen Bejoy’s short film ‘Reflections’. It was this work of Bejoy that convinced Anurag to come on board.

‘Shaitan’ also reminded Anurag of his unreleased 2003 film ‘Paanch’ starring Kay Kay Menon in the lead. According to Bejoy, when Anurag read the film’s script, he found many similarities with ‘Paanch’, as in ‘Paanch’ too, a bunch of youngsters, out of greed for money, end up in a crime.

Kirti Kulhari assumed her kissing scene with Kalki Kanmani to be a ‘prank’:

‘Shaitan’ has many moments that made it very different from the kind of films that were coming out at that time, and also why it was considered ahead of its time. One such scene was where Kalki Kanmani and Kirti Kulhari share a kiss.

In an interview, Kirti Kulhari revealed that she initially assumed the scene was just a prank. But once the cameras rolled, she was completely caught off guard — and the stunned expressions captured in the film were her genuine reactions of surprise. "The kiss with Kalki in the film was quite a shocker for me because I was not prepared for that," she told IANS