Nagesh Kukunoor on Dhanak: ‘I wanted to make a movie to remind myself that there’s still some goodness left in the world’

The story, about a young girl who is on a quest to cure her little brother of blindness, is about belief, faith – and a little magic.

The young actors Krrish Chhabria and Hetal Gada in Dhanak. Photo by Sumit Deshpande
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Nagesh Kukunoor, the award-winning director best known for his coming-of-age films such as Hyderabad Blues and Iqbal, will be at Diff for the screening of his new movie Dhanak (Rainbow). The gentle drama, shot in Rajasthan, follows the epic journey of a young blind boy and his older sister. It won the Grand Prix for Best Feature Film by the Generation Kplus International Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, and has appeared at 30 international film festivals. Kukunoor, who has co-produced, written and directed Dhanak, tells The National why the film, with its elements of magic and positivity, will appeal to audiences of all ages.

We’ve heard Dhanak is a magical and happy film. How would you describe it?

I wanted to make a movie to remind myself that there's still some goodness left in the world. As I wrote the story, I also realised that children have an amazing ability to see magic in things. So, there is a kind of magical, fable-like element that runs through the film. The story is told from the point of view of two children, but Dhanak is a film for all ages. It's a happy, positive, slice-of-life film.

How different was it working with children and how did you prepare them for their roles?

Both Krrish [Chhabria] and Hetal [Gada] had some experience working for television before they came to me. The travesty is that in most Indian cinema and television dramas, children don’t act like children. They are given big lines to mouth and say things they normally wouldn’t in real life. I had to make them unlearn what they knew so well. I gave them their lines and asked how they would say the same thing in real life, in their way. So, throughout the film, they have spoken the way children do. It was a challenge to get them to understand that I didn’t want them to act, but once they got it, they were phenomenal.

What kind of a relationship did the two children share on the sets?

Krrish and Hetal behaved like real-life siblings on the set. When they were in their make-up vans in between shoots, we would hear Hetal scream, ‘Krrish mujhe sata mat’ (Please don’t bug me, Krrish), but Krrish wouldn’t stop driving her up the wall. They got along fabulously.

Two of your films – Dor and now Dhanak – are set in Rajasthan. What draws you to the state?

Rajasthan still retains its character and has a strong visual element that adds drama to stories, which is why I like to shoot my films there. My team begs me not to film there again since the harsh weather makes the shoot difficult. But I must confess, my little actors in Dhanak didn't complain at all. They were happy in all situations. That's why I always say that I can take credit for training them as actors, but not for being good human beings.

How important are film fest screenings for you vis-a-vis a film’s theatrical success?

Film festivals are fantastic because they give me a one-on-one interaction with an audience that is very well-versed in cinema, so it makes the experience scary and exciting at the same time. It’s a great testing ground, a wonderful way to meet filmmakers, and also a fantastic way to figure out where one stands in the scheme of things. I have never wanted to be a big fish in a small pond; I’ve always immensely enjoyed the rivers. Earlier, the stamp of a film fest was death for a film at the box-office, but now with the younger audience plugged in much more to world cinema, the response to such films is strong. Theatrical success is equally important. If a film doesn’t do even moderately well at the box-office, the filmmaker will have trouble raising money for his next film.

What motivated you to make more than a dozen films in 17 years?

I've made 15, actually. One of my films, Yeh Honsla (2008), was never released. But I don't treat my films as events. What drives me the most is telling stories and there are lots of them I want to share. I hope to level the number to one film a year sometime soon.

Dhanak will be screened at 11am on Friday, December 11, at Madinat Theatre and at 5.30pm on Saturday at the Mall of the Emirates. For more details, visit www.dubaifilmfest.com

artslife@thenational.ae