Jab I met Nagesh Kukunoor

There are some things in life that I believe in strongly. One of them is that dreams coming true is only a myth. I was living in reality but a loser like me couldn't even believe in something in peace. My belief was shattered recently when I met God. Not literally, but figuratively I mean. I had read about life showering pleasant surprises on people but the possible thought of me, a dud engineering student, barely a film-maker, meeting my idol was bleak. But Roadies, as we know it, always does what no other show can do, and when I went to attend the Chandigarh Auditions of Roadies 9, Raghu, Rajiv and Rannvijay brought with them a surprise, and a big one too. Travelling with the Roadies 9 Audition team was Nagesh Kukunoor, promoting his Rannvijay starrer film Mod, and the sight of a frail looking, long-hair-greying-at-the-temples kind of a man wouldn't actually make your brain-gears churning that this could be a hot-shot film director, but when has Nagesh Kukunoor not surprised you, eh?

So I got a chance to not only meet Nagesh, but also interview him. Wooohoo!! Still can't believe it! And what struck me was not only the simplicity of this man but also the gentle way in which he talked to me. His eyes lit up when I said that just like him, I am also an engineering student who aspires t be a film-maker some day and I consider him as my idol. Who would believe it, but under his autograph, on the back of my Power Electronics class register that I was carrying to take notes of the Roadies event, he also gave me his email id and asked me to mail him the links to all the films that I made. What a day that was!

Here are some excerpts from the little interview that we had:

Q. You launched Shreyas Talpade in Iqbal, he was seen before in a scene in Aankhen and now you're giving Rannvijay his first solo film with Mod, who is already super famous; what do you expect from Rannvijay as an actor?
Nagesh: I had never watched the show Roadies before or knew if had done any films before. I had no idea about Rannvijay being a star or his fan following when I cast him. A friend referred his name to me, I asked him if he would come and audition for the part and he got selected.

Q. Shreyas in Iqbal, John in Aashayein, Akshay Kumar in 8x10 Tasveer, when you were moving to bigger actors or 'stars' with every film, why suddenly Rannvijay, relatively a new-comer if I may say so, why was that?
NK: Look, there are some films which require big actors or stars as you put it and some which require fresh faces or newer actors. This was a film which required a new actor and here we are.

Q. Now that Mod is ready for release, what do you expect from the film?
NK: I wanna show the world that a guy like Rannvijay, who has this biker-boy, adventurer image can actually do a serious romantic role. Not trying to create another image, but breaking stereotypes in a way.

Q. You're an engineer yourself, who got into making films, what is your advice to aspiring film-makers like us?
NK: Just pick up a camera, go out there and let your creativity loose. Believe.

Stay tuned. Stay Raw.
Adios!