Nagesh Kukunoor
Nagesh Kukunoor | |
---|---|
Georgia Institute of Technology | |
Occupation(s) | Film director, actor |
Nagesh Kukunoor (born 30 March 1967) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and few Telugu 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 2003, he directed
In 2006, he garnered the
Early life
Nagesh Kukunoor was born in
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
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
Filmography
Films
Year | Film | Director | Producer | Screenwriter | Actor | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | Hyderabad Blues | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Debut feature film English language film |
1999 | Rockford | Yes | Yes | Yes | English language film | |
2001 | Bollywood Calling | Yes | Yes | Yes | English language film | |
2003 | 3 Deewarein | Yes | Yes | Yes | Filmfare Award for Best Story | |
2004 | Hyderabad Blues 2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | English film Nagesh Kukunoor – Nominated for "Best Performance in an Indian English Film" at Screen Weekly Awards.[22]
|
2005 | Iqbal | Yes | Yes | National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues Nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Director | ||
2006 | Dor | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
2008 | Bombay to Bangkok | Yes | Yes | |||
2009 | 8 x 10 Tasveer | Yes | Yes | |||
2010 | Aashayein | Yes | Yes | |||
2011 | Mod | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
2014 | Lakshmi | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Mercedes Benz Audience Award, for Best Narrative at the Palm Springs International Film Festival |
2016 | Dhanak | Yes | Yes | Yes | The 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 National Film Award for Best Children's Film[2][10][20][23] | |
2022 | Good Luck Sakhi | Yes | Yes | Telugu directorial debut[24][25] |
Television
Year | Title | Director | Screenwriter | Language | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019–2021 | City of Dreams | Yes | Yes | Hindi | Hotstar series; 2 seasons, 20 episodes
|
[26] |
2022 | Modern Love Hyderabad | Yes | Yes | Telugu | Prime Video series; 3 episodes
|
[27] |
Awards
- Best Film on Other Social Issues – Iqbal – 2006
- Best Children's Film – Dhanak – 2016
- International Awards
- Audience Award for best film at the Peachtree International Film Festival in Atlanta, Georgia – Hyderabad Blues – 1999
- Audience Award for best film at the Rhode Island International Film Festival – Hyderabad Blues – 1999[28][29]
- Best Film – Mercedes Benz Audience Award, for Best Narrative at the Palm Springs International Film Festival – Lakshmi – 2014[6]
- Dhanak(2015)
- The Grand Prix, for the best feature-length film – at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival
- Special Mention for the Best Feature Film by The Children's Jury for Generation Kplus at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival
- Best Film Award in the main category-Children's Feature Film Competition-Cinema in Sneakers (film festival)
- Best Film Award – at the Montreal International Children's Film Festival (FIFEM)[2][20][30]
- Filmfare Award for Best Story – 3 Deewarein – 2004
- Other Awards
- Teacher's Achievement Award for Creative and Performing Arts – 2002
References
- ^ Nagesh Kukunoor with Irfan (27 February 2017). Guftagoo with Nagesh Kukunoor (in Hindi). Rajya Sabha TV. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d "'Dhanak' honoured in Poland".
- ^ "- Berlinale – Archive – Annual Archives – 2015 – Programme – Dhanak – Rainbow – Regenbogen".
- ^ a b Sircar, Subhra (14 November 2002). "Desi films draw bigger crowds than foreign films". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
- ^ "Directorate of Film Festival" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ^ a b "Lakshmi wins Audience Award". India West. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ "- Berlinale – Archive – Annual Archives – 2015 – Programme – Dhanak – Rainbow – Regenbogen".
- ^ "Small film, big win: Nagesh Kukunoor's 'Dhanak' wins two awards at Berlinale". The Indian Express. 17 February 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "National Film Awards: Neerja best film, Akshay Kumar best actor". 7 April 2017.
- ^ "Keerthy Suresh completes shooting for Telugu film Good Luck Sakhi". Hindustan Times. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ "Nagesh Kukunoor – Biography". Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- ^ "My Inspiration -Directors » Filmmakeronline.com – Sanjay Arora Independent Filmmaker". Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
- ^ "Hyderabad Blues 2 : Box Office India". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
- ^ "Hyderabad Blues". Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- )
- ^ "English dreams, Hinglish films..." The Hindu. 28 July 2003. Archived from the original on 1 September 2003. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ "Hackneyed themes, new nuances". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 8 November 2009. Archived from the original on 13 November 2009.
- ^ "Akshay plays a character close to me: Nagesh Kukunoor – Sify.com". Sify. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ a b c "Awards and Juries in The Generation Section". Berlin International Film Festival. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ "Nagesh Kukunoor's 'Dhanak' bags honour at Berlin Film Fest". The Hindu. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ "Screen Weekly Awards (2005)". IMDB.com. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
- ^ "- Berlinale – Archive – Annual Archives – 2015 – Programme – Dhanak – Rainbow – Regenbogen".
- ^ Pecheti, AuthorPrakash. "Nagesh Kukunoor gets candid about fondest memories". Telangana Today. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ "Keerthy Suresh's next with Nagesh Kukunoor titled Good Luck Sakhi". www.msn.com. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ "Nagesh Kukunoor to direct web series 'Mayanagari #CityOfDreams'". 11 May 2018.
- ^ "Modern Love Hyderabad: 6 heartfelt stories of romance to release in July-details inside". Zoom TV. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- Georgia Tech College of Engineering. Archived from the originalon 4 April 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ "Informals..." IITB. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ "- Berlinale – Archive – Annual Archives – 2015 – Programme – Dhanak – Rainbow – Regenbogen".
External links
- Nagesh Kukunoor at IMDb