Nagesh Kukunoor – the darling of India’s urban indie film industry – turns 48 today. The chemical engineer-turned-film maker, who created waves with his NRI tale, Hyderabad Blues in 1998, has directed 13 feature films so far. He got a standing ovation at the Berlin Film Festival recently, for his latest film Dhanak. A look at his best films:
Hyderabad Blues
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This film, shot entirely in Hyderabad city, has its characters speaking a number of languages – Telugu, Hindi and English. It pioneered the urban indie film wave in India. The film deals with the protagonist Varun’s (Nagesh Kukunoor) cultural shock, when he returns to India after spending 12 years in the USA. The film was made on a shoe-string budget of Rs 1.7 million and was shot in 17 days. It was featured in ten international film festivals and earned praises at all of them.
Lakshmi
Released in 2014, this film deals with human trafficking and child prostitution in rural areas of India. It has singer-actress Monali Thakur in the title role. It won the Best Film – Mercedes Benz Audience Award, for Best Narrative at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Iqbal
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Iqbal is perhaps Kukunoor’s most famous work. The film is about a deaf and mute boy’s struggles to establish himself as a professional cricketer. He’s a prodigy, yet his impairments and financial status hinder his way to success. The film had Shreyas Talpade in the title role and Naseeruddin Shah in another pivotal role. It won a National Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues category. Shah won the Best Supporting Actor award that year for his fine portrayal of Iqbal’s coach in the film.
Recommended
Dor
Dor, which was released in 2006, is a remake of the critically acclaimed Malayalam film Perumazhakkalam. It has Ayesha Takia, Gul Panag and Shreyas Talpade as the lead actors. A poignant story of two women from different backgrounds, Dor is about friendship, redemption and forgiveness.
3 Deewarein
This film, unlike Kukunoor’s other films, has a stellar cast including Juhi Chawla, Naseerudin Shah, Jackie Shroff and Gulshan Grover. It narrates the story of three prisoners on death row and a documentary filmmaker who arrives at the prison to shoot their story. The film has mainly Hindi dialogues and was shot on a budget higher than most other Kukunoor films.
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