Breaking Rules

With his next—Aashayein,with John Abraham in the lead—he is dishing out a drama about a compulsive gambler. But what he is most content about is that the film,completed nearly two years ago,is finally seeing the light of day. “Everytime in this business when you feel you have figured it all out,you get to learn something new.”

What troubled him further was the fact that the film was delayed for no fault of Abraham or his. “The producers (Percept Picture Company) and the distributors (Reliance Big Pictures) had their differences. I am happy they are sorted now,” he smiles.

But this hasn’t prompted him to start his own production house. “What I don’t enjoy about producing a film is that it distracts me from directing,” says Kukunoor who did produce his first film,Hyderabad Blues,made on a shoestring budget of 17 lakhs in 1998. Since then he has been a sought after name in Bollywood. Looking back,one wonders if he will be able to repeat that feat. “Too much knowledge has corrupted me over the years,” he laughs,“but I wish to make small films like that every year.”

For now,he hopes to bring his loyal audience back to the big screen with Aashayein,after Bombay to Bangkok and 8X10 Tasveer failed to click with them. “When a film doesn’t do well,it is like a punch in the stomach. I was obviously hurt. But more than anything else,I believe that my last two releases were victims of perception. I had built a loyal fan base with Iqbal and Dor,and they were aghast with the two films that followed. One needs to work on managing perception,” says the 43-year-old filmmaker who feels Aashayein should bridge the gap that had recently developed.

Although perception management is an art he is yet to master,what Kukunoor does best is cast actors in roles they have never attempted earlier and churn out stellar performances from them. While Juhi Chawla did her first ever non-glamorous role in 3 Deewarein,Kukunoor got Ayesha Takia and Shreyas Talpade to show unexpected shades in Dor and Iqbal respectively. “When actors are cast in a particular kind of role for a long time,they become a victim to that persona. They are petrified to step out of the boundary. The joy of this business is that it is make-believe. Whenever I cast against the type,it becomes exciting for me,” explains Kukunoor,who is set to change Abraham’s image with Aashayein. “The image of John is that of a hunk who takes off his shirt and rides bikes. This movie is going to break that.”

And if the film does well,Kukunoor is gearing to explore other spaces. “I have technically written my first love story; then there is a nice,fun film on sports,about an underdog. I have also written my first horror film,” he tells us. And after years,the acting bug has returned,stronger than ever. “The last time I felt really committed to acting was in 3 Deewarein,but now I feel like plunging my teeth into a good role,but ‘what’ is the question.”

Make A Wish
* An actor/actress you wish to work with: Mel Gibson and Susan Sarandon
* A book you wish you could adapt for the big screen: Life of Pi,but Vikas Swarup’s Q&A was the first book I ever wanted to make into a film. I failed to obtain the rights.
* A location you wish to shoot at: New Zealand,New Mexico and Arizona.
* A biopic you wish to make: Kishore Kumar