"I might direct a Telugu movie soon"

The Hyderabad blues seems to have struck Nagesh Kukunoor. The filmmaker, who set up shop in Mumbai years ago, is part of the jury of the International Children’s Film Festival and says he is glad to be back home as he was “missing” his city.


“The festival has given me an excuse to hang out here and chill out with my buddies. I have been a jury member for different film festivals before. But this time I am doubly excited as I am getting to spend a week at home,” he says.

However, it’s not all play and no work for Kukunoor, who is geared up for the film festival. “There are a lot of kids on the jury this time and I want to see whether my opinion matches with theirs,” he quips. Nagesh, who shot to fame with his two movies that were based on kids — Rockford and Iqbal — feels that children’s films are not given enough priority by the industry.


“Our films are controlled by the private sector, which is driven by industry economics. Children’s film society should fund more movies on kids and make them commercially viable. Countries like Iran make great movies for kids. It will take time for our film makers to understand that kids movies are profitable too.”

Box office success is something that has evaded Kukunoor’s films after the success of Iqbal and Dor. Both Bombay to Bangkok and his last film, 8x10 Tasveer failed to make an impact. Though his upcoming films, Yeh Hosla and Aashayein have been in the news for a long time, they are yet to be released.


“Aashayein got delayed initially because of the disagreement between the production house and distribution company. After wards, there was the multiplex strike. We hope to release both movies soon.”Whether they have fared well at the box office or not, the director says that he is happy with his body of work. “Bombay to Bangkok is a comedy, Tasveer is a thriller and Iqbal was a story about the human spirit. No two films of mine are identical and my movies are a mixed bag from different genres. As a movie buff, I like to watch different genres. And as a director too, I would like to make different kinds of cinema. I don’t think there is anything called commercial cinema,” says Kukunoor, who is not averse to the idea of making a Tollywood flick.


“The only reason I’ve not directed a Telugu movie is because I’ve always been more comfortable with Hindi, even though my mother tongue is Telugu. But lately, I have been seriously considering working in Tollywood. I might direct a Telugu movie soon,” says Kukunoor.