Director Nagesh Kukunoor discusses his debut Telugu feature film ‘Good Luck Sakhi’ starring Keerthy Suresh as a shooter, which is scheduled to release in theaters on January 28.
Nagesh Kukunoor narrates his first Telugu film good luck friend, starring Keerthy Suresh as a 10m rifle shooter, as “a bright, sunny film to watch in these mess” [pandemic] Bar.” It has taken a little over two decades for the Hyderabadi writer-director to return home with a full-fledged Telugu film.
Partially shot in 2019 and after the first lockdown in 2020, the film took its time to hit theatres, with each wave of COVID-19 throwing the release schedules of many films out of gear. After settling in for this interview in his office, Kukunoor reminisces, “I moved on from good luck friend And made season 2 of city of dreams (Disney+Hotstar); When I returned months later in the film to check out the color grading on the big screen, I looked at it with a smile. It’s a happy movie set in a utopian space to which I keep returning. ,
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Kukunoor wrote good luck friend Years ago, the intention was to collaborate with the late director Hrishikesh Mukherjee. A fictional story emerged after seeing a news clipping of shooters Chandro Tomar and Prakashi Tomar 23 years ago.
His co-writer Rohit Banawalikar noticed the story a few years back and suggested that it be revived. “Rohit knew Sudhir Chandra Padiri, who was keen to make it. Sudhir contacted Keerthy Suresh through his friend and stylist Sravya Verma. Kirti liked the story and the film rolled out. Kirti has filled the role with joy. Sakhi is my kind of heroine – genuine, courageous but not over the top.”
good luck friend The story is based on a fictional village and apart from sports, the story discusses gender issues and questions the notion of fate. “I wrote it as a wacky sports romance comedy, trying to keep Rishi-Slave Lively alive. The story is told in a light-hearted manner and there are not many problems.”
he watches his 2005 movie Iqbal, where Shreyas Talpade played a deaf and mute character who dreams of playing cricket for India. Kukunoor believes that it was a downtrodden story of human conquest in which the game was accidental. “Both Iqbal and good Luck Sakhi There are stories where I have used sport as a metaphor for life. Extraordinary things happen when one plays the game and pushes oneself beyond a limit. ,
Kukunoor is a fitness enthusiast and follows the journey of Cross-Fit athletes: “I’m also a big fan of sports movies – basketball, baseball, horse racing… Secretariat (2010) Takes me to tears. I have some scripts which are hardcore sports movies. Iqbal And good luck friend, in that sense, are not hardcore sports dramas.”
he also sees Iqbal As a happy film in a utopian world. He said, ‘I try not to fall into the trap of making certain types of films. money (2016) was also in a happy place. Then, I worked on season one city of dreams, exploring a deep surroundings, before taking good luck friend,
The Telugu film paved the way for her collaboration with longtime friend and actor Jagapathi Babu: “He would often ask when we would work together. I’m glad we finally managed to do this. I also got a chance to work with incredible talents like Aadhi Pinisetti and Rahul Ramakrishna.
good luck friend Nagesh also collaborated with music composer Devi Sri Prasad, who is synonymous with catchy numbers in star-studded big budget films. Kukunoor recalls the music session at DSP’s Chennai recording studio: “He is like a crazy bundle of energy, full of ideas and with an always present smile. The first song that was released was ‘Bad Luck Sakhi’. Hollywood music, but it harmonizes with the Indian rural setting.”
The first schedule in 2019 was fast. When the team reassembled on the sets in September 2020 after the first lockdown, many shooters from the Telangana Rifle Association were hesitant to join the climatic parts in view of the pandemic situation. “We worked with a small team and narrowed our way to the finish line.”
For the Telugu dialogues, Kukunoor enlisted the help of her longtime collaborator Devika Bahudhanam and writer-director Sandeep Raj. Although familiar with Telugu, it was not Nagesh’s primary spoken language since childhood. He used to shift between English and Hindi with family and friends. “My faith in Telugu grew while building friend… I don’t miss English or Hindi as often as before.”
Kukunoor made sure that he had complete control over the story and screenplay. He recalls an incident when he met producer Tutu Sharma rockford (1999), his second film, soon followed by the runaway indie hit Hyderabad Blues (nineteen ninety eight). “He read the script and gave me suggestions. I made my point and said that I have written the script according to the way I saw the story. He relied on my faith and let me be. Since then I have never let anyone become a hindrance in the name of box office.”
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