Nagesh Kukunoor on his latest film and not working with big stars

His last few films like Mod, Aashayein, 8x10 Tasveer and Bombay to Bangkok proved to be duds. But Nagesh Kukunoor still prefers making the kind of films he believes in even though some of his projects have taken ages to release or have yet to see light of day.

Taking on slice-of-life subjects in a sensitive manner is his forte. The engineer-turned-filmmaker is best remembered for his debut flick Hyderabad Blues and later Iqbal. His upcoming film based on human trafficking features reality show singer Mauli Dave along with Ram Kapoor and Shefali Shah. He has been taking on the highs and lows of B-Town in his stride as we ask him...

You are sending your new film to the Cannes film festival?
Fingers crossed! I have submitted the film but I have yet to get a reply in the affirmative. It will be doing the festival circuit before its release. Singer-actress Mauli Dave is playing the title role in the film.

You are also acting in your latest...
Yes, I acted in 3 Deewarein, which starred Naseeruddin Shah, Jackie Shroff and Juhi Chawla a decade ago. It was a minor role but this time I have a proper role with a track. So you can say I am back to acting too! But I would rather stick to making films.


After bad experiences with stars like John Abraham (Aashayein) and Akshay Kumar (8x10 Tasveer) in your earlier projects, would you ever make a film with a star again?
It all depends but my new film may not have the big stars but a talented team.

Whatever happened to your film with Sameera Reddy?
It was completed three years ago. We shot extensively in Rajasthan. It was a complete makeover for Sameera. But unfortunately the film never released. I really don't know whether it will ever see light of day, how much ever I want it too.

There had been buzz that you are planning a project with R Madhavan.
I don't want to say anything about it at this stage. All I can say is fingers crossed.