Nagesh Kukunoor has had a chequered career with highs (Hyderabad Blues, Iqbal, Dor) and lows (Bombay To Bangkok, Tasveer). The director now returns to the cinemas with a different story centring around two children on a journey across Rajasthan.
How would you describe Dhanak?
Dhanak is a happy film, with a magical fabulist element about it. It’s about this eight-year-old blind boy called Chhotu who lives in a village in Rajasthan with his sister (Pari). Like children do, she promises him that he will get his eyesight back before he turns nine ... but she doesn’t know how. So they set out on this magical journey across Rajasthan. The story is told from the point of view of two children, but Dhanak is a film for all ages.
The girl believes Shah Rukh Khan can cure her brother’s eyesight. Has he made a cameo in the film?
No, he is not there in the film, it’s just a rumour. I would love to make a film with him but no plans as of now.
The children are extraordinary in the trailer. They say working with kids is difficult so did you have to extract performances out of them or were they naturally gifted?
There are no natural actors in the world; that is a myth that people propagate. Every bit of acting is structured, trained, and with an understanding of the camera. These kids (Krrish Chhabria and Hetal Gadda) were outstanding. I selected them after a very long audition process but one of the things to remember is that no matter how many times you test them off screen, you can still be shocked when you take them on location. I was pleasantly shocked, not because these kids were good actors but they were good human beings. I have always dealt with children as adults, and that’s when you get the best from them.
The kids had to focus and work in a hostile environment — we were shooting in the blazing sunlight — but they did it so well!
The film has been screened at various festivals. What was the response?
The best thing about being in this business is that you get occasionally spurts of excitement, beside the filmmaking of course. I was happy that the film won an award at the Berlin Film festival.
Most of your films are festival driven; have you thought of making commercial films?
If we all make commercial films then there won’t be furthering of the art; and if we all made art films we would all be bored out of our minds. So you need to find the happy balance between the two. Unfortunately, filmmaking is an art form in which the business aspect is a huge element; so you have to pay a little bit of attention towards the business, I have been very good at not paying attention to that... but it is part of the process. I hope I can do something new for the audience.