By Joginder Tuteja, IndiaFM

Hyderabad Blues, Rockford, Bollywood Calling, Teen Deewarein - and now Iqbal. Nagesh Kukunoor has been the man associated with diverse genres ranging from drama and tongue in cheek humour to satire and stark. After a few offbeat movies that met with varied degrees of success, this time Nagesh directs a movie for none other than showman Subhash Ghai, who himself has had his share of 'different' movies like Rahul and Joggers Park.

Over to the director himself in a casual conversation with Joginder Tuteja after a special pre-release screening of the movie at PVR Plaza, New Delhi. What strikes most about the young director is his down to earth humble persona that makes for an extra comfortable ambience.

Nagesh, first of all congratulations for a well made movie.
Thanks.

So first and foremost, how did you zero in on Shreyas Talpade for the lead role of Iqbal?
See, there was a lot of thought that went into selecting a youngster for this title role of a fast bowler. His body language and attitude should have matched with the character and you have to be extra careful while selecting an actor as you can't fool millions of Indians who follow cricket so closely. There were two options. One - we pick up an actor and teach him a little of cricket. Two - we do vice versa by picking up a cricketer and expect him to learn some acting. Well, none of the two seemed to work and this is where Shreyas entered the picture in one of the auditions. He has a look of a cricketer and has done wonders even in the acting department. He passed the test and we had our hero!

What kind of preparation went into preparing Shreyas into the role of a fast bowler?
Good part was that Shreyas himself had played some cricket before. So it wasn't too much of a problem. Moreover Kapil Dev's presence helped as he worked with Shreyas on the body language and the bowling action.

First Teen Deewarein and now Iqbal - How as it with Naseeruddin Shah?
Well, you saw the movie. His performance is there for everyone to be seen and his work speaks for himself. As always, he is brilliant! And you may know, he has himself played a lot of cricket before.

Definitely. And a sure shot award wining performance indeed. So how come Kolipad as the village where the lead protagonist lives? Is it a village in Maharashtra?
[Smiles] No, Kolipad is a fictional village.

So why Rampur earlier? Everyone was made to believe that the movie is set in Rampur as the earlier title was Iqbal - The Rampur Express
(Laughs) Well, you know what? Rampur was never meant to be associated with the movie. Even the movie's title was always Iqbal. I don't know how the media came across the term Rampur and linked it to the movie, hence terming it as Iqbal - The Rampur Express. [Chuckles] It was always just Iqbal and this is where it stays.

Nagesh, you may not like the classification of the movie being 'mass oriented v/s class oriented', but it seems all the drama builds up mainly towards the second half hence turning it into a mass appealing narrative. Your views?
To answer your first question, I really don't mind a movie being classy or massy. At the end of the day, I want a movie to run regardless of whether it has a feeling for mass or class. Period! On your second point regarding the second half being more dramatic than the first, well it was meant to be that way. The first half is there to build up the base which is utilized to the fullest in the second half. So there you are!

Very true. The only disappointing thing though is that a good song by Suresh Wadkar - 'Paani' - doesn't feature in the movie. Any specific reasons?
It's not just 'Paani' but 3 more songs that appear in the album but do not feature in the movie. Ultimately a song has to fit in the narrative and we saw that 'Paani' wasn't really fitting in there.

Any news on Tandoori Express?
[Corrects] It's Tandoor and not Tandoori Express. This is another misconception. Well, every movie has its own time to be made. Tandoor has been in the news for two years now and would be made when the time is ripe.

So what next after Iqbal?
(Smiles) Things are in progress and would be announced at the right time. But for now, its only Iqbal!

All the best Nagesh for a brilliant movie. It deserves to be a commercial success.
Thanks. I wish so myself! 

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