Nagesh Kukunoor arrives in Tollywood

Tasteful Bollywood director Nagesh Kukunoor of 'Hyderabad Blues' and 'Iqbal' fame is all set for his Telugu directorial debut and this film will star Keerthy Suresh , Aadhi Pinisetty and Jagapathi Babu in the lead.

The film is said to be a sports-romedy genre for which shooting is going on a brisk pace, aver makers. It is produced by Sudheer Chandra and co-produced by Shravya Varma and presented by E Shiva Prakash.

The first-time producers managed to rope in a reputed cast and crew as well. Leading composer Devi Sri Prasad is on board for this project and Chirantan Das 'Tanu Weds Manu' fame is handling the camera and editing by Sreekar Prasad. Right now, the shooting is going in and around Vikarabad and Pune. The untitled film is set to hit the screens in September 2019.

Actually, Hyderabad-based Nagesh Kukunoor made Indie movies even before India knew what Indie was. He made his mark in B-town with novel plots and stylized narration besides extracting realistic performances. His movies are about raw emotions being displayed gracefully and seamlessly joining together to create magic on the silver screen.

His film 'Bollywood Calling'(2001) was a ticket to get a sneak peek behind the iron walls of Bollywood. This movie unearths what lies beneath the glossy magazines - the Jekyll and Hyde effect, the newcomers struggle, the punctuality, the casting couch, the double standards and more importantly the larger-than-life image of superstars.

His other film was 'Deewarien'(2003)-a tale of three prisoners who are about to be hanged. One claims his innocence, one refuses to accept guilt for his crime and the last is so racked with guilt he cannot wait for the noose to be drawn. Into their lives comes a female filmmaker with some baggage of her own. He bagged National Award for his sports-centric drama 'Iqbaal'(2005).

For many, 'Iqbaal' was everything 'Lagaan' was not – a film with great performances, an engaging narrative and a strong emotional core, without having to be melodramatic or emotionally manipulative. He also made path-breaking movies like 'Dor', 'Lakshmi' and bagged national award for his kiddie flick 'Dhanak' once again.

Amidst B-town commercial movie makers like Karan Johars and Rohit Shettys, Nagesh made his own mark in the last two decades. His arrival in T-town will usher in a new kind of cinema which could inspire more young Telugu filmmakers to chart their own course. - BVS