A magical fable of sibling love

Meet Nagesh Kukunoor and the crew of Dhanak as their film makes its way to Lost the Plot before its theatrical release

Open air film screenings are not a new concept in Pune anymore. With Lost the Plot screening films almost every other day, the rooftop open-air cinema is doing more than its share to help keep the trend alive. They will soon screen the preview of the Hindi feature film Dhanak, in the presence of the cast and crew, before its commercial release.

Quite popular at several film festivals, this story of an elder sister trying to help her younger brother get his eyesight back can melt the hardest of hearts. Ahead of his visit to the city, director, writer and producer Nagesh Kukunoor spoke with TGS about his newest venture.

Shot over 33 days, across 46 locations, making the film was one hell of an experience, Nagesh recalls. “The fact that it is a road movie being filmed in Rajasthan, the heat was enough to pose all possible challenges. However, the test for me began with casting the right children for the roles. We auditioned almost 500 children before deciding on Hetal Gadda and Krrish Chhabria,” says Nagesh.

The film was screened at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival for the very first time. It competed in the Generation KPlus section and won the Crystal Bear Grand Prix for Best Children’s Film and a special mention for the Best Feature Film by the Children’s Jury. In addition, they also bagged the Best Film Award in the main category at the Children’s Feature Film Competition — Cinema in Sneakers, and the Best Film Award at the Montreal International Children’s Film Festival. Dhanak has already been to 43 film festivals and the appreciation has been overwhelming.

When a friend pitched a story for an ad film, Nagesh was inspired to turn it into a script. It is very important for a filmmaker to believe in the story that he is making and there was something about this one that called out to him. The trailer alone will show you just how innocent, sweet and magical the film will turn out to be.

After working for a while as a chemical engineer, Nagesh found satisfaction in filmmaking. He has made 14 films till date and each has been unique in its own way. “As a filmmaker, trusting my instinct is the most important factor for me. I like to be challenged while making films,” the director states.

Ask him about his future plans and he laughs, saying that the journey with this film isn’t over yet, to start planning for the next. Filming is a long process and he likes to finish one project completely before starting another. The one thing that he absolutely hopes he would not be a part of is the publicity and marketing that one has to do before the release of the film. For this very reason, he tries to not start a new project till one is completely finished.

salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

Originally published on The Golden Sparrow