Nagesh Kukunoor

The promos of Dor look very dramatic, very unlike Nagesh Kukunoor. Are you changing gear?

Most of my films have revolved around the simplicity of relationships. Dor is not dramatically different, but yes, it is my most dramatic film. From the language to the visuals, it is indeed more dramatic than, say, Iqbal. The challenge for me was to make ordinary people do dramatic stuff.

So Dor is a drama and not a melodrama…

Exactly, that’s what I had to be very careful about. I don’t want to lose my audiences by going over the top.

What is the concept of the film all about?

As the tagline suggests, how far would you go to save the person you love… It is about not giving up. It is about the courage to believe in your convictions. Now, such courage can take different shapes and sizes. And that is what Dor tries to explore.

Gul Panag

Where and why did you rediscover Gul Panag?

As I do with all my films, I did several rounds of audition for Dor. I tried a lot of actors for this role but she turned out to be just right for this pahari woman from Himachal. Apart from the looks which suited her, she has given a fine performance.

Ayesha Takia plays a Rajasthani girl in Dor

Ayesha Takia doesn’t belong to your cinema…

Exactly, that’s what I thought! In fact, I had reached a dead end looking for someone to play the role of Meera, the Rajasthani girl. Then somebody told me about Ayesha Takia. And I went: “What? That girl is so glam!” Then I was told that Naseer has cast her in his film. So I said fine and I asked for a DVD of her debut film Socha Na Tha. After watching some scenes I was amazed with the way she performed. I just decided to cast her as this village woman. I went by my instincts as a director. Hope I got it right.

Your deaf-and-mute cricketer is now a talkative Rajasthani bahurupee. Do you think the audience will accept Shreyas Talpade in this new avatar?

I really don’t know. As a film-maker my job is to continue messing with the audience’s expectations. I am troubled with this conditioning attitude — a director has to make the same kind of films; an actor has to do the same kind of roles.

Hrishida (Hrishikesh Mukherjee) used to always do the opposite and he used to enjoy a heck of a lot. He used to cast people in roles not expected of them. Shreyas is nothing short of fantastic in Dor. The audience won’t expect in a million years that he can play a role like this after playing Iqbal.

Shreyas Talpade

There has always been a sense of innocence in your cinema, right from Hyderabad Blues to Iqbal. Do you think you will be able to hold on to it, now that big corporate money is behind you?

See, in my films, each character has to make sense to me. Their backgrounds have to be justified. Once that happens, the innocence levels will be right there. All I can say is that my approach to my kind of cinema won’t change. I can’t lose that. I may make a thriller but I will play within those rules. As long as I am clear of what I want, I won’t lose my innocence. If my films get a bigger reach (because of the corporate funding), it’s great. I can’t be bothered about that.

You have these great Bengali technicians who have become a permanent fixture in your films…

(Laughs) Yes, we were laughing the other day as to how our crew is divided into two groups — the Bongs and the Marathis. But yes, the Bengalis in my team bring so much on board. My cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee’s work is beyond outstanding in Dor. Then my editor Sanjib Dutta has been with me since Rockford. He assisted Renu Saluja before cutting my films. Also, my mixer is a Bengali, Alok De.

What do you have to say to the audiences who will come in to watch Dor expecting it to be another Iqbal?

I know there’s a baggage this time because Iqbal was so successful. I don’t want the audiences to expect anything. Whenever one goes to watch a film with a lot of expectations, he or she is bound to be extremely disappointed. I just want people to go in thinking: “I wonder what Nagesh Kukunoor will get into now!”

nagesh’s next: Aashayein with john abraham

After Dor, Nagesh Kukunoor will make two more films for Percept Picture Company (PPC) in 2007.

The first one will be Aashayein, which will star John Abraham in the lead. The film, a heartwarming fable about life and its positive elements, “is a story of a compulsive gambler who discovers new meanings of fortune and life through some dramatic turn of events”.

This will also be the first time that Kukunoor will work with a mainstream star like John. “I looked at John more as an actor rather than a star,” the director told Metro. “If you are talking about stars, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri are very much stars for me.”

Kukunoor confirmed that he is making Aashayein but was quick to add it may not be his next film after Dor. He may make something else for another production house before starting Aashayein, named after the popular song from Iqbal.

While Aashayein would go on floor in March 2007, the second film with the working title Five Women (Bemisal) is scheduled to take off in July 2007. The cast of the film is been worked upon. Both Aashayein and Five Women will be in association with SIC Productions.

Shailendra Singh, joint managing director of Percept Holdings, said: “Our relationship with Nagesh started with Dor and now it is being consolidated with the two-film commitment for 2007.”

“With PPC’s marketing finesse, Nagesh’s intelligent storytelling and John’s ever-growing box-office pull, Aashayein should be one of the most eagerly awaited releases of 2007,” signed off Mahesh Ramanathan, chief operating officer of PPC.