The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : At Saarang, Kukunoor steals the show

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 27, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

At Saarang, Kukunoor steals the show

Sudhish Kamath

Filmmaker keeps audience hooked with story of his entry into celluloid

ON STAGE: A music performance by students at IIT in Chennai on Wednesday. — Photo:M. Karunakaran

CHENNAI : `Saarang' without a jukebox was like a party without a dance floor.

But thankfully, before that dampener could ruin the mood, in came Nagesh Kukunoor to the rescue. The maverick filmmaker, who delivered a lecture and conducted a workshop on filmmaking on Wednesday afternoon, was clearly the hero of the day at IIT's `Saarang.'

From the minute he cut short the student introducing him as the speaker, Kukunoor took over to tell the audience all about the making of a filmmaker — a story that kept his audience hooked for the length of a feature-length movie.

Like many of those in the audience, after his Class 12, he took up the GRE and TOEFL exams. Nagesh got his admission in the United States, and landed a job. "The first day of the job was great. A great new world opened up to me and I was living the American dream," he said.

A few days later, he wondered what he was doing there.

Moment of truth

He was just fulfilling "the invisible checklist" imposed upon him by his family and society. According to them, a perfect family was a wife, kids and a dog. That to him, sounded like the beginning of a nightmare.

But it was his appraisal interview that turned out to be the moment of truth. "Where do you see yourself five years from now," asked his interviewer. Like a well-rehearsed actor, he went about the politically correct answers, tailor-made to make an impression in the corporate world.

However, it was when he went home to think about it, a flash of epiphany struck. "That was a moment of raw panic," he recalled. Chemical engineering was not exactly what he saw himself doing for the rest of his life. He told his boss he was quitting. The boss agreed, almost instantly. "That's when I realised I was not important," he said.

Indian society did not teach him how to deal with a mid-life crisis. He attended acting workshops, studied film and finally figured that is what he wanted to do.

So he packed his bags to India.

The very next scene, Nagesh found himself on the sets of Veer Hanuman, taken in as a translator. He showed up for shoot at 8.45 on the first day, to find only the assistant director at the sets. "When I become director, even I can come late," the assistant told him. The director arrived at 11 and the stars arrived by noon and soon, they would break for lunch.

That was the scene that later found made its way into his movie `Bollywood Calling.'

The director was zooming in on a heavily made-up Sita with false eye-lashes and terribly fake tears, shooting down logic and reasoning when Nagesh tried to point out. "You do your work," said the director.

That was when Nagesh wondered: "I quit everything for this?"

He went back to America, saved up about 36,000 dollars and came back to make a statement. Hyderabad Blues — the statement that stills speaks volumes about character, determination and originality, even after a decade.

It was a day to remember for the students when Kukunoor signed off saying: "Do what you believe in."

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