Ekta Kapoor has fired back at Anurag Kashyap for his recent dig at saas-bahu dramas, calling the filmmaker “classist” and “dumb.” Kapoor’s sharp reaction came after Kashyap mocked such shows in response to Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos’ remarks about Sacred Games.

Ektaa Kapoor, who has long been associated with daily soaps and family dramas, took offense. In a pointed Instagram story, she wrote:

“Ur so dumb… saying this put u on an advantage ‘I’m smarter cooler’ but naaaaaaaa! Darling how about gracious!!! N self aware?????? An art a lot of artists don’t have! ‘Saas bahu’ n their impact on Indian masses (how women got a voice in mass India) is well documented by a prestigious Chicago research! But artists who talk of an inclusive world are actually more classist.”

She added, “We must do away with this ‘U can’t sit with us we r better’ attitude for democracy n fair play! Love n light to all.”

It all began when Sarandos, on Nikhil Kamath’s podcast, reflected on the streamer’s early journey in India. He said launching with Sacred Games may not have been the right choice and that a more “populist” show might have connected better with Indian audiences.

 But one of his comments didn’t sit well with the show’s co-creator, Anurag Kashyap, and went on to call Sarandos “dumb”. He posted on Threads, “He should have started with Saas Bahu .. he would have done well. Which he is doing now Z I always knew the tech guys are dumb when it comes to story telling but @tedsarandos is the definition of dumb is what I didn’t know.”

Sacred Games marked Netflix’s first original Indian series, directed by Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane. Starring Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, it was widely praised when it premiered in 2018. Although the second season received mixed reviews and the show was eventually cancelled.