Nagesh Kukunoor

Nagesh Kukunoor Naidu (born 30 March 1967) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor known for his works predominantly in Hindi films. He is known for his works in parallel cinema, such as Hyderabad Blues (1998), Rockford (1999), Iqbal (2005), Dor (2006), Aashayein (2010), Lakshmi (2014), and Dhanak (2016). Kukunoor has received seven International Awards, and two National Film Awards for his works.[2][3]

In this Telugu name, the surname is Kukunoor.
Nagesh Kukunoor
Kukunoor at Saarang 2011, IIT Madras cultural festival
Born
Nagesh Kukunoor Naidu[1]

(1967-03-30) 30 March 1967
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Alma mater
OccupationFilm director, actor

In 2003, he directed 3 Deewarein, which was showcased among the Indian panorama section, at the 2003 International Film Festival of India. The film was also premiered at the Kolkata Film Festival.[4] After having been screened at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, where it was well received, the film was screened at the Commonwealth Festival at Manchester, it was nominated as one of the top five films, at the gala presentation. Nagesh Kukunoor has also received the Filmfare Award for Best Story.[5]

In 2006, he garnered the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues, for directing Iqbal. In 2014, he received the Mercedes Benz Audience Award, for Best Narrative at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for Lakshmi.[6] In 2015 he directed the road movie, Dhanak, which won the Crystal Bear Grand Prix for Best Children's Film, and Special Mention for the Best Feature Film by The Children's Jury for Generation Kplus at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. The film has also garnered the Best Film Award in the main category-Children's Feature Film Competition-Cinema in Sneakers (film festival), and the Best Film Award - at the Montreal International Children's Film Festival (FIFEM).[2][7][8][9] The film has garnered the National Film Award for Best Children's Film for 2016.[10]

Early life

Nagesh Kukunoor was born in Hyderabad to Kusuma and Sudarshan. Kukunoor's mother tongue is Telugu,[11] and as a child he loved watching Telugu, Hindi, and English films in the theatres of his neighbourhood, Narayanguda. He studied at Montfort School, Yercaud. Nagesh Kukunoor attended Osmania University in Hyderabad, India and received his Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering. He moved to Atlanta, Georgia in the United States in 1988, and completed his Master's degree in Environmental Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. After graduating from Georgia Tech, he went to work as an Environmental Consultant at Trinity Consultants in Texas, then in Atlanta, during which he attended workshops in film. He studied Acting & direction at the Warehouse Actor's Theater in Atlanta.[12]

Film career

He invested the money he made from his engineering career in USA in producing the 1998 movie Hyderabad Blues. It is based on a script that he wrote in Atlanta dealing with Indians returning home from the United States of America. He directed and acted in the movie. It had a budget of Rs. 1.7 million (roughly equivalent to US$40,000) and was shot in 17 days. It was perceived by Sanjay Arora, an independent film maker, to be realistic and one of the first movies to use Hyderabadi Urdu correctly.[13] It became the most successful independent film in India.[14] The film was featured at Peachtree International Film Festival in Atlanta and Rhode Island International Film Festival.[15]

Later features

3 Deewarein (2003) was premiered at the Kolkata Film Festival.[4] In contrast to his earlier work, it had a budget of ₹21 million (US$290,000) and featured established actors including Naseeruddin Shah, Juhi Chawla and Jackie Shroff.[16][17]

In 2006, Nagesh Kukunoor wrote and directed Dor, a drama film featuring Ayesha Takia, Gul Panag and Shreyas Talpade as the lead actors. Nagesh also acted in the film, playing businessman Chopra. The film is about two women who come from different backgrounds and how fate brings them together. Meera (Ayesha Takia), a young woman who becomes a widow shortly after marriage, is trapped by tradition. Zeenat (Gul Panag), on the other hand, faces the daunting task of saving the life of her husband, who is on trial for murder. A bahuroopiya (Shreyas Talpade) helps her reach Meera, who holds the "string" to Zeenat's hope. The companionship that develops between Meera and Zeenat results in redemption for both. The film was well received by both the critics and film buffs.

It was, however, his film Iqbal featuring Shreyas Talpade and Naseeruddin Shah, which won him a lot of critical acclaim and recognition for the simple yet heart rending script by Nagesh and the acting by all actors.[18]

His next film 8 x 10 Tasveer, an action-thriller featuring Akshay Kumar in the lead role fared poorly at the box office but was considered to be Nagesh's most self-reflective work to date. "I like to cast characters who are close to me. And this one gets as close to me as possible. I was once an environmental consultant. Akshay plays the part of an environment protection officer," Kukunoor said in an April 2009 interview.[19]

In 2015, at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival, his feature Dhanak won The Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury for the best feature-length film, and received a Special Mention by Children's Jury in Generation Kplus Section.[20][21]

Filmography

Films
Year Film Director Producer Screenwriter Actor Notes
1998Hyderabad BluesYesYesYesYesDebut Feature film
Audience Award for best film at the Peachtree Village International Film Festival in Atlanta
Audience Award for best film at the Rhode Island Film Festival
1999RockfordYesYesYesEnglish Film
2001Bollywood CallingYesYesYesRome Film Festival
20033 DeewareinYesYesYesIndian Film Festival of Los Angeles
International Film Festival of India
Kolkata Film Festival
Nominated at Commonwealth Film Festival of Manchester
Filmfare Award for Best Story
2004Hyderabad Blues 2YesYesYesYesNagesh Kukunoor - Nominated for "Best Performance in an Indian English Film" at Screen Weekly Awards.[22]
2005IqbalYesYesNational Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues
2006DorYesYesYesIndo-American Arts Council Film Festival[23]
Atlanta Indo-American Film Festival[24]
2008Bombay to BangkokYesYes
20098 x 10 Tasveer YesYes
2010AashayeinYesYes
2011ModYesYesYes
2014LakshmiYesYesYesYesMercedes Benz Audience Award, for Best Narrative at the Palm Springs International Film Festival
2016DhanakYesYesYesThe Grand Prix, for the best feature-length film, and Special Mention for the Best Feature Film by The Children's Jury for Generation Kplus, 65th Berlin International Film Festival
Best Film Award in the main category - Children's Feature Film Competition - at the Cinema in Sneakers Children's Festival in Poland
Best Film Award - at the Montreal International Children's Film Festival (FIFEM)
Indian National Film Award for Best Children's Film[2][10][20][25]
2020 Good Luck SakhiYes Yes Telugu Directorial debut[26][27]

Television
Year Title Network Director Screenwriter
2019 Mayanagari-City of Dreams [28] Hotstar YesYes

Awards
National Film Awards
International Awards
Filmfare Awards
Other Awards
  • Teacher's Achievement Award for Creative and Performing Arts – 2002

References
  1. Nagesh Kukunoor with Irfan (27 February 2017). Guftagoo with Nagesh Kukunoor (in Hindi). Rajya Sabha TV. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  2. "'Dhanak' honoured in Poland".
  3. "- Berlinale - Archive - Annual Archives - 2015 - Programme - Dhanak - Rainbow - Regenbogen".
  4. Sircar, Subhra (14 November 2002). "Desi films draw bigger crowds than foreign films". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Lakshmi wins Audience Award". India West. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  7. "- Berlinale - Archive - Annual Archives - 2015 - Programme - Dhanak - Rainbow - Regenbogen".
  8. "Small film, big win: Nagesh Kukunoor's 'Dhanak' wins two awards at Berlinale". The Indian Express. 17 February 2015.
  9. Jaidev Hemmady (16 February 2015). "Nagesh Kukunoor's 'Dhanak' Bags Award At The Berlin Film Festival". movietalkies. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  10. "National Film Awards: Neerja best film, Akshay Kumar best actor". 7 April 2017.
  11. "Keerthy Suresh completes shooting for Telugu film Good Luck Sakhi". Hindustan Times. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  12. "Nagesh Kukunoor – Biography". Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  13. "My Inspiration -Directors » Filmmakeronline.com – Sanjay Arora Independent Filmmaker". Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  14. "Hyderabad Blues 2 : Box Office India". Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  15. "Hyderabad Blues". Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  16. Varghese, Nina (10 August 2003). "The White formula for crossover success". The Hindu Business Line. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  17. "English dreams, Hinglish films..." The Hindu. 28 July 2003. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  18. "Hackneyed themes, new nuances". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 8 November 2009.
  19. "Akshay plays a character close to me: Nagesh Kukunoor - Sify.com". Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  20. "Awards and Juries in The Generation Section". Berlin International Film Festival. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  21. "Nagesh Kukunoor's 'Dhanak' bags honour at Berlin Film Fest". The Hindu. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  22. "Screen Weekly Awards (2005)". IMDB.com. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  23. "DOR to be screened at IAAC Film Festival". Glamsham.com. 6 October 2006. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2008.
  24. "IAFF: Event and Screening Locations". Atlanta Indo-American Film Festival. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2008.
  25. "- Berlinale - Archive - Annual Archives - 2015 - Programme - Dhanak - Rainbow - Regenbogen".
  26. Pecheti, AuthorPrakash. "Nagesh Kukunoor gets candid about fondest memories". Telangana Today. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  27. "Keerthy Suresh's next with Nagesh Kukunoor titled Good Luck Sakhi". www.msn.com. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  28. "Nagesh Kukunoor to direct web series 'Mayanagari #CityOfDreams'".
  29. "Nagesh Kukunoor, From Chemical Engineering to Bollywood". Georgia Tech College of Engineering. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  30. "Informals..." IITB. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  31. "- Berlinale - Archive - Annual Archives - 2015 - Programme - Dhanak - Rainbow - Regenbogen".
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