Kukunoor: 'Don't play by anyone else's rules'

Film-maker Nagesh Kukunoor may not have had any other hit movies since Dor but he admits he still wants to play by his own rules. At an event held to beckon young film-makers in the country to enter a short movie-making contest, the young director spelled out his complains about the current crop of films and film-makers.

Kukunoor says, “Don’t play by anyone else’s rules. You should totally believe that what you are doing is right.” The film-maker feels that none of the current crop of movie-makers have anything original to talk about in their films. He points out, “The other day I was telling someone the same thing – the current crop of film-makers are all telling the same stories. Conformism seems to be the order of the day.”

The film-maker who has also made films like Rockford and Hyderabad Blues adds emphatically, “Take a poster of any current film. Replace the title of the film with any other, and no one will be able to tell the difference.”

Sudhir Mishra seemed to echo Kukunoor’s sentiment. He said, “If you are a film-maker, you should be ready with 20 new stories in your head. If your producer does not accept one, dish out another one to him.”

Film-maker Mahesh Bhatt is optimistic that the young short film-makers in the country are gradually trying to think out of the box, and that would become a significant contribution to Indian cinema. He explained, “To me, this alternate medium of cinema is very important. There is a young India who can do it. And I am looking forward to seeing some new kind of cinema from them.”