aditya kumar's weblog

So when I asked him, the director of Bluffmaster, on the chat at rediff, exactly why did he work in a coffee shop in New York, I expected a better answer. Something like, maybe he wanted to see how it feels to work in a coffee shop in NY, to meet new people or to have a feel of the city probably because the city has inspired him all his life (Typical Bollywood).

The answer was, well, he just wanted to earn some money. How boring.

And before I could tell him that my friends did not like his movie, he was gone.

But since I have not seen the movie as yet, I shall not (try to) be prejudiced. I am optimistic about the movie for many reasons, one of them is this.

Mine is the second last question, here.

After I saw Iqbal, I thought I could very well update my last post on the movie since I think it is a well made movie. I have always believed in Kukunoor’s abilities as a director and this time too, I was not disappointed. The best thing about the movie was that unlike other movies that are based on a theme like this, this movie does not evoke emotions because our Hero is deaf and mute. In fact, chances are that while watching the movie you might forget, for once, that he is handicapped at all.

The reason why I did not update my last post on Iqbal and am writing a new post here is because I thought there could be a connection drawn between Kukunoor’s magnificent movie and Anand Vasu’s excellent and thought provoking article on the state of Indian Cricket Selection process here. The author is Cricinfo’s assistant editor.

Mr Vasu’s article proves that cricket is not just a mere sport in my country. More than a sport, and not only a religion, I think it is an industry. There is more to it than what meets the eye. I urge you to read it here.

Nagesh Kukunoor is not a typical bollywood director. His work says it all. I absolutely loved his Teen Deewarein. I think it was a very well made film. Of course, if you attribute success to “commercial” success, his films may not touch that mark. But he has persisted with his directing style and I think that is the best thing about him.

His latest offering, Iqbal: The Rampur Express is due to release the coming Friday. This, from Rediff:

“His latest, Iqbal: The Rampur Express, is an unusual tale about a deaf and mute boy (Shreyas Talpade) who wants to join the Indian cricket team. And he has a village drunk (Naseeruddin Shah) for help.”

With Iqbal Kukunoor is trying something new. From the outside, this could combine the sentiments of Cricket in Lagaan and the disability in Black. He could be trying to pull off a commercial success here. Actually, even if Kukunoor rips off any bollywood movie and remakes it in his own way, I would look forward to it because I know with this guy being the director, the story is in safe hands.

The other big reason to watch this movie is Naseeruddin Shah. One has to keep in mind, Mr Shah is one actor who does not render his services easily to any director.

Kukunoor’s movies are simple. They are not heavy stuff. He tells the story in an uncomplicated way. And you should listen to his hindi. His Hyderabadi hindi speaking style is something that amused me.

I am looking forward to Iqbal.