Anurag Kashyap Criticizes Movie Health Disclaimers Impacting Art

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is really upset about the big health warnings that appear during movie screenings, like for the film Sinners, in Indian theaters. He believes these messages spoil the mood for viewers who are enjoying a scene that the filmmaker worked hard to create.

Anurag told Indiewire that in a movie like Sinners, which is about creating a certain atmosphere, signs about smoking and drinking pull the audience out of the experience and ruin the excitement.

He shared a story about his own fight against the Censor Board when they forced him to add these kinds of disclaimers to his 2013 film Ugly. He said, “This is a major threat to artistic expression.” He had to give up the fight after the movie was leaked online, and now he feels that filmmakers put a lot of effort into making something special, but these warnings destroy that special moment before the audience can even enjoy it.

Anurag mentioned that he sees some pushback against this issue, but nothing changes because the people making the rules don’t care about how movies should look and feel.

Sinners is a thrilling action-horror film by director Ryan Coogler, featuring stars like Michael B. Jordan. It came out in Indian theaters on April 18 and is doing really well at the box office, earning $175 million worldwide and becoming the sixth highest-grossing movie of 2025. The story follows twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, who return to their hometown in Mississippi, only to face a terrifying ancient evil: vampires. The movie also stars Jack O’Connell, Delroy Lindo, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, and Saul Williams.