I want to break free from my past: Nagesh Kukunoor

"I can���t bear to watch my old films. I don���t think you can learn anything from your past. Can you?��� is the opening salvo of Nagesh Kukunoor. The Hyderabadi filmmaker, who gave us the cult clich��, ���dil pe mat le yaar, haath me������ seems to be keen to move away from his past, as he says: ���I strongly believe that art has no mistakes. It���s your point of view at a certain timeframe in your life.You just have to let it go after saying what you want to.���
���I have never followed a pattern. When I made my debut, I was branded as an independent filmmaker, and then someone said I make multiplex-films. I have been judged by different parameters all my professional life because people didn���t know what to tag me as. As a result, it���s a big challenge for me to raise funds for each of my films. And on top of that, for almost 15 years, I was kind of dismissive that my initial films inspired others to follow suit,��� he confesses.
His latest film, Dhanak (Rainbow) has scored big at the Berlin Film Festival, as it narrated the story of siblings, who go on a journey through the desert of Rajasthan to find Shah Rukh Khan. The film is set to be screened at major film fests in Toronto, Los Angeles, Busan and Israel. ���Whether you like it or not, when you win awards at a film fest, it gives you validation. It almost feels like you have to win these awards for others to take you seriously (laughs). Our line of work is such that we get so jaded and occasionally, winning something which isn���t rigged or tainted gives you a high. I couldn���t believe when Dhanak became the only Indian film that was selected for Berlin, which probably gets more than 3000 entries from all over the world,��� he smiles.
And if the early buzz about the film is anything to go by, it sounds like the most uplifting film Nagesh has made since Iqbal. He nods in agreement and calls it a ���very happy film���. ���Someone asked me why I had made a film like this and all I could say was, ���I made this film to believe that there is still some goodness left in this world. I wanted it to remind of the India I grew up in, when things weren���t complicated.��� I think I am very cynical in real life that, most of the times, my scripts become my outlets. The cynicism comes from mistrust and our lives revolve around it. Be it bargaining for a better price or just lending money ��� we do it because we don���t have enough faith in anyone. However, I do like my films to end on a happy note. When you walk out of a film with a smile, there���s some value to it. Feeling good can never be taken lightly because we get very few such opportunities in real life,��� Nagesh says.
Talking about the Hyderabad he grew up in, we wonder what he misses the most about the city and pat comes the reply, ���Oh, it���s definitely the lack of space. It���s over-crowded and noisy. I can���t write my stuff here and Mumbai, where I live now, is even worse. Even if I have to, I end up closing all the doors and windows and put my noise-cancellation headphones on.���
It���s been 17 years since he made his directorial debut and Dhanak is his 14th film, which doesn���t sound all that bad for someone who has been on the brink to find people to back him up. So what keeps him going? ���It���s the joy of directing a film. I love the energy and dynamic nature which the job demands. In any given year, the actual process of a making movie lasts for just three to four months and the rest of the time you are busy promoting it, raising funds, etc,. That���s one of my biggest fears too, that I might lose the enthusiasm to make films. I get very restless after completing the shoot and that���s where my job ends. My partner Elahe Hiptoola tries to drive sense into me that I shouldn���t get detached from my work so easily (laughs). That���s one area that I���m working on.���