Search

FILM INTERVIEW: NAGESH KUKUNOOR

Forward-Thinking Filmmaker Directs First-Ever Love Story in ‘Mod’

By: Simran Mody

October 14, 2011

Just as in Hollywood, Bollywood has a penchant to stay within the box and stick to formulaic films starring the same lot of actors. It is almost as if the greatest creative minds who have access to throngs of moviegoers have become adverse to risk. One person who did not get that memo instructing filmmakers to color within the lines is Nagesh Kukunoor, whose first-ever love story, Mod (starring Rannvijay Singh and Ayesha Takia), opens in select theaters and multiplexes on October 14th.

The Indian director (who started his professional life as an engineer) has constantly pushed the envelope in his film productions, avoiding formulas like the Plague. In order to keep himself on his toes, Mr. Kukunoor constantly tries to change the world around him.

“Filmmaking is a very selfish process, and this is why I constantly attempt different genres, because I get bored if I repeat myself,” Mr. Kukunoor told the Indian press. “I try to rethink and reinvent, as for me, the joy of filmmaking lies in trying new things every time.”

Mod is proof of the director’s quest to be both different and fresh. After all, Mod is the first time Mr. Kukunoor has ever delved into the world of romance films. Soon enough, the director informed the press he would love to explore the horror, action, and sci-fi genres.

“This is the first time I am making a love story. It is an old-fashioned romance with different treatment, which also has certain mystery about the characters,” Mr. Kukunoor informed the Indian press.

Indeed, Mr. Kukunoor has taken the road less traveled in each of his projects, including films such as Dor, Iqbal, Hyderadbad Blues, and Rockord. Perhaps the only constant in each of his films, including Mod, is that each are made for relatively little money but feature substantive content and storylines.

Of course, any film successfully challenging the ways of the studio system needs the perfect combination of story, direction, and acting. With Mod’s lead actors, Mr. Kukunoor believes audiences are in store for a pleasant surprise.

“Rannvijay had auditioned for the role. The one thing I always look for in any actor is honesty, and that is what I saw in him,” Mr. Kukunoor said. “I am sure post-Mod, his rugged, biker boy and macho image will get a makeover and he will be seen as a soft, shy, and sensitive guy. I am sure he will pull off this new image really well.”

Considered a pioneering leader in the space of Indian independent cinema (particularly with low-budget films), Mr. Kukunoor believes audiences on the subcontinent are embracing, and perhaps demanding, the skewed departure from the formulaic studio production.

“The audience has always been welcoming when it comes to accepting change and innovation. It is great that such kind of cinema is happening, but again, it is so easy for the industry to fall back,” the director pointed out to the media. “Even today, if you have a fantastic script but don't have muscle backing from a big production house, things are still very difficult.”

Adding to the difficulties that independent films face, despite a welcoming public, are box office receipts. Mr. Kukunoor argued for a tiered pricing system of sorts to allow independent films to co-exist with blockbuster studio productions.

“Ticket prices for low-budget films have to be changed because people won’t shell out so much money on something which is not their type of commercial cinema,” Mr. Kukunoor informed the press.

The director applied a similar argument to A-list actors. While he confessed he would be pleased to take on the opportunity to work with big-named talent, Mr. Kukunoor worried that a larger-than-life personality may dominate to such a high degree that it may well take away from the very spirit of the fictional personality.

“Sometimes there are stories where you don’t want a star to overpower the concept or the idea,” Mr. Kukunoor stated to the press. “When you have big stars in a movie, they bring along a big baggage of expectations and an image … and hence they overpower the character. But there are times when you have such strong characters that you want the audience to understand it rather than the star taking away the juice with his charismatic image. So, whatever the script demands, I bring in that element.”

This weekend, audiences will be filling multiplexes to see if Mr. Kukunoor brought all of his elements in 'Mod.'