Bollywood director Nagesh Kukunoor was constantly asked why children’s films in India weren’t as popular as Hollywood’s Pixar and Disney productions.
“Because they don’t dumb it down to the point of incoherence for the adults as directors try to reach out to kids,” said Kukunoor in an interview before the UAE premiere of his film, Dhanak, on Tuesday evening.
Dhanak is a tale of two young siblings — Pari and her blind brother, Chotu, from Rajasthan — who embark on a mission to restore his vision before his ninth birthday. A poster featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Pari’s matinee idol, promoting an eye donation drive prompts her to run away from home with her brother, and seek medical and financial assistance from Khan. As implausible as it may seem, Pari is convinced that she can pull it off and what follows is a road adventure across the dunes of Rajasthan.
“The irony about Dhanak is that it is a film about two kids but I never thought it was a children’s film at any point … We have taken this film to 43 film festivals so far, but I have never had a parent or an adult come out of the cinema and say that it was boring or that, ‘I sat through the film for my kids alone’. That was heartening to know,” said Kukunoor, who won the Crystal Bear Grand Prix for Best Children’s Film at the Berlinale Film Festival last year and received a Special Mention for the Best Feature Film by The Children’s Jury for Generation Kplus.
Starring young actors Hetal Gada and Krrish Chhabria in central roles, the director was determined not to make his lead actors speak in an “overtly cute” manner.
Bollywood films with child actors have a tendency to force minors to speak in a contrived way and thrust older-than-their-actual-age dialogues on them. The result is a gratingly cheerful, but unrealistic character.
“That is the bane of children’s acting in India,” said Kukunoor.
“What’s the worst part of today is that there is a strong conditioning among kids on how to behave perfectly. This [is] especially true among kids who are remotely connected to acting. These kids, Hetal and Krrish, came with a bit of TV experience and they were all playing cute at first … The crazy thing is that they were phenomenal when the cameras weren’t around. I had to detrain them and tell them that it’s good to be themselves even when the cameras are switched on. Once that got into their heads, it set the tone for the film,” said Kukunoor, who resisted the urge to tell them off when they went into the dreaded “cute zone”.
Dhanak, which was also showcased at the Dubai International Film Festival last year, was filmed at a brisk pace. Sifting through 500 child actor hopefuls, developing a seven-tier elimination round to find his lead child actors, then covering 46 locations in 33 days during summer to make Dhanak were Kukunoor’s priorities. The director, who can be credited with making unconventional films such as Dor and Hyderabad Blues, is high on conviction and is determined to tell his stories, his way.
“Filmmaking is such a personal, instinctual call. There is no right or wrong. But I really cannot really trust everyone else … When you have such an intense, selfish way of dealing with the story, it is hard to find other people to get invested in it … Filmmaking is not a democracy, it’s a dictatorship. When you have that kind of madness towards making a film, it’s not always easy ... you may say that you are the sum total of your technicians, but if you cannot tell him if a shot should remain in a film or not, it doesn’t count,” said Kukunoor, who adds that he would never wait for a Bollywood star to give him shooting dates. In Bollywood, A-listers make directors wait for over a year to allot dates for films. But Kukunoor is in a hurry to tell his stories.
Fortunately for him, Dubai-based producer Manish Mundra from Drishyam Films, shared his vision. Their motto is to bring good, content-driven films to the big screen and Dhanak is one of the many unconventional films on their plate. Their roster for the next few months also include releasing Naseeruddin Shah and Kalki Koechlin’s emotionally-charged dramas Waiting and Umrika, to the UAE audiences.
“In India, when you have a story that doesn’t have a star this happens: Suddenly a group of people descend upon the room. They claim to be scripts doctors, but may have never written a script. They make suggestions. But if you have a star on board, then these 25 people mysteriously disappear and everyone is saying it’s a great idea without really knowing the film is about. It is then blindly funded ... So I am exhilarated that Drishyam Films agreed to fund my film and release it in the UAE, the US, UK, Singapore ...,” said Kukunoor.
While Dhanak has no big Bollywood stars, the Hindi film industry is dominated and fuelled by stars and their egos. “But I am not going to sit on the other side and take [expletive] from people who are not qualified to give it. There is no point, I have never gone down that road and I never will … Filmmaking is a personal journey,” said Kukunoor. In Dhanak, which means rainbow, Kukunoor was out to make a heart-warming story about two siblings, their bond and their conflict.
“The core of the film is sibling rivalry. I can vouch that the bond between siblings stems from conflicts and fights. That is what I remember growing up. I fought with my brother all the time, but we love each other so much. If you see Dhanak, these kids fight a lot. They are not saying ‘I love you bhaiyaa [big brother]’ like the usual Bollywood films. They fight and one of their main bone of contention is that Pari is a Shah Rukh fan and Chotu is a Salman Khan fan. You will need to watch the film to find out more.”
Don’t miss it!
Dhanak is out in the UAE this Thursday
