Flying colours

Actor Anupam Kher on why One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest is a landmark film
The 1975 Milos Forman classic One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest,is one of my favourite films. I remember watching it a few years after its release as a final-year student of acting at the National School of Drama in 1978. I went with friends for the 3 p.m. show at the nearby theatre on the day of its release. I was so impressed that the next day I caught up with the morning and evening shows. Being a serious student of acting and a voracious reader of cinematic literature,I was completely floored by Jack Nicholsons performance in the film. I was 23 at the time and watching such a landmark performance left a lasting impact on me. He is a brilliant actor.

Not only the characterisation but the concept of the film also impressed me. It deals with a criminal who has chosen to spend the rest of his life in a lunatic mental asylum and tries to cheer up the inmates against the wishes of the asylum staff. On a story level,the film was unique as it was refreshing and not something other filmmakers were doing. Also the film was performance-driven,with stellar acting done by Danny De Vito and Louise Fletcher. The film had attention-grabbing power. I cannot claim to have been inspired by the roles but the film did become part of my emotional memory,and 30 years later,when I did Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara,I recall trying to make a connection with Nicholsons role,by walking like him.

It was not a conscious attemptmy emotional memory just reproduced itself at that point of my career. One Flew over the… was produced by Michael Douglas and before that his father,Kirk Douglas,had directed the play version of it. Michael did not cast his father in the film and as a result Kirk did not speak to his son for some time. I read that in Kirk Douglas biography.