QA
"I won't make an art
film"
After the premier -- a festival
screening -- of his second feature film Rockford in Delhi last week, Kukunoor
spoke to Anna M.M. Vetticad:
 Q. How did Rockford happen?
A. I wanted to write a book about my boarding school experiences, but once
I started down this line I thought a film would be better. Right after Hyderabad Blues
I happened to find two diaries that I maintained when I was in high school, so I wrote
Rockford.
Q. Will the book ever be written now?
A. Not likely. In a screenplay I could say "living room" and
that would be done, whereas in a book I'd have to describe the living room. I've gotten
too used to thinking as a screenplay writer.
Q. Are adolescent boys really as sexually obsessed
as the kids in Rockford?
A. I think "sexually obsessed" is a strong term, but yeah, it
occupies a good chunk of your time. At that point in your life, that's the latest and
greatest new thing you've discovered. And it occupies your mind a lot -- 95 per cent of
the time.
Q. Both your films draw on your personal
experiences. Can you do that for the rest of your career?
A. As long as I have the stories to tell, I'm going to tell them. Whether
I tell it well or not is a different question.
Q. No censor problems for Rockford?
A. We had to cut out a couple of cuss words. But, and I say this in all
sincerity, they were kind enough not to lose the integrity of the scene. Hyderabad
Blues ran into problems though. We were given the most illogical reasons on the face
of the earth. Blanket statements like "Indian women don't kiss". I got fed so
much BS. But finally when we got to the tribunal, we got away with all of it except three
Hindi gaalis.
Q. Is your next film, Bollywood Calling, a spoof on
Bollywood?
A. No. By no stretch of the imagination. It's a very honest
behind-the-scenes look at the making of a masala film inBollywood. Spoofs have a
knack of belittling what they're spoofing. And they have a knack of making a film
frivolous.
Q. You acted in Hyderabad Blues and Rockford.
You're doing a cameo in Bollywood Calling. Are you a narcissist director?
A. Absolutely ... Actually, I enjoy every facet of filmmaking. I started
learning acting in Atlanta at the Warehouse Actor's Theatre and I truly truly enjoyed
acting. As a matter of fact I've gotten offers to be just an actor.
Q. But are you a good actor?
A. I'm an average actor. None of that spontaneous BS and all, but I
understand what needs to be done.
Q. Do you see yourself making a very serious art
film?
A. No. It doesn't interest me. |
