In a Gamblers Den

Nagesh Kukunoor is not ready to rest on the debacle of Tasveer 8x10. He can thank John Abraham for that.

Nagesh Kukunoor is not ready to rest on the debacle of Tasveer 8×10. He can thank John Abraham for that. One day he saw a poster of Deepa Mehtas Water,with the Bollywood hunk in an early 20th century avatar,bespectacled and brooding by Varanasi. And Kukunoor knew he would be the hero of his next movie on a compulsive gambler.

I had not seen any of Johns movies,but when I saw his expression on the poster,I knew he was someone who could convey empathy and sadness, says Kukunoor,who promptly cast him in his movie,Aashayein.

The film is about a character who has only 90 days to fulfil his dreams. It is a beautiful tale about life, he adds.

The filmmaker was in Delhi for a charity event organised by Plan India,an NGO that rehabilitates HIV+ children,and his film,which will be releasing by January next year,too will have an HIV+ character whose role is to sensitise the audience on the issue.

Arguing that he is here to make movies and any story can trigger an idea,Kukunoor says he will soon begin shooting for another film,inspired by real incidents and starring Sameera Reddy,Yeh Hosla.

It is shot in villages across Rajasthan and is about a city youth who goes to villages to teach women to operate a camera, he says. Boxoffice blues are definitely not an issue here.

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