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BLUES Boy
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Nagesh Kukunoor, who redefined rules in showbiz with "Hyderabad Blues", is back with its sequel. T. KRITHIKA REDDY writes...
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IT WAS seven summers ago when Nagesh Kukunoor entered tinsel town "to prove to himself that he could make films." Today, with his dates diary chock-a-block, the producer-director-scriptwriter-actor continues to redefine rules in showbiz. In Chennai recently in connection with the "publicity" for "Hyderabad Blues 2: Re-arranged Marriage," the sequel to his path-breaking debut "Hyderabad Blues," Kukunoor is pressed for time, but not for words. Togged up in trademark jeans and black tee, his eyes do a merry jig as words roll out in a cogent stream-of-consciousness.
"Imagine chucking the job of a Chemical Engineer to pursue films. Pure passion," the Blues Boy unwinds in a spartan conference room at Satyam multiplex. "All along, I knew cinema was where I belonged. But I wanted to strengthen my knowledge base before taking the plunge," he adds, with his love for the art peeping out of every word.
Fearlessness has not just stopped with making his own career choice. Kukunoor has proved it in the choice of films as well. For instance, in his latest sequel, he revisits Hyderabad Blues after seven years, "To pick up the threads in the lives of the lead characters Varun and Ashwini. It's actually a peep into their lives. There's the issue of marriage and the feelings associated with it, boredom included! The earthy complexion of his earlier work is predominant in this one too... "
With razor sharp candour he continues, "Fantasy films are not for me. I can't do films that I can't relate to. Middleclass is my milieu. That's why it's a recurrent feature in my films. And when your subject is middleclass, it can't be removed from reality. So the earthy feel comes naturally."
For someone who has demonstrated his credentials behind the megaphone and before the camera, Kukunoor is nakhra-free. Nonchalantly complying with the photographer's request for different angles, he adjusts his hair that's curled every which way and carries on with the parley. "You know something, I'm a bit amused when people say I've made it with small budget films. To me, ballooning budgets have nothing to do with creativity. Sometimes, films with monster budgets crash at the box-office, whereas ones that are made on shoestring budgets work magic. The bottom line is skill. And whether it's a big budget film or not, what matters to filmmakers is the bucks at the box-office," he says snapping his fingers.
Well, budget is just one of the facets of film making where Kukunoor has broken ground. There are others as well... like winding up shooting schedules in a month, using a medley of languages in the same film and donning different hats — from producer to actor. "Yes, it's been great doing so many things at the same time. When shooting schedules are in progress, I prefer to be done with them as quick as possible. Speaking of languages, it's no longer homogenous in our casual usage. Is it? It's always a mix. As for playing many roles, it is getting very exhausting. The script itself takes away quite a bit of my time. I prefer to work on it uninterrupted. Because to me, script is the core. Get the script right and the rest will follow... "
Is Kukunoor averse to making full-fledged commercial films? "No way. I look at mainstream masala films as a package. If something clicks the way I want, then why not? asks the filmmaker, who made critics search for superlatives for his very first film. "Rockfort," "Teen Deewarein" and "Bollywood Calling," a light-hearted take on the excesses of Hindi filmdom, helped him carve his niche as a filmmaker with a difference.
A nice Big Mac sprinkled with Indian spice... Are Kukunoor's films part of the new crossover genre? "No way, my films are steeped in Indian-ness. And, let me make it clear, according to me, we have only the typical mainstream masala films, the innovative ones like that of Ram Gopal Varma and small budget independent films like mine. "Lagaan" was perhaps the only film that came closest to crossover cinema. Concerns of the Indian Diaspora/NRIs will continue to be the themes, but not really crossover genre!"
Kukunoor's next take will be a "cute film about death. Please, don't get misled by the topic, it's not grim. "90 Days" will revolve round a man who wins a windfall but learns that he will die within 90 days."
But in a few days from now, it's going to be away from those stuffy studios and frenzied interaction with fans. "I'm off on a holiday before I start work on `90 Days'." It's important to unwind. I do a lot of leisure travel while in the U.S."
Sure, there's life beyond films.
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