Nagesh Kukunoor is a prominent Indian movie director. His well known movies are Rockford (1999), Hyderabad Blues (1998), 3 Deewarein (2003) and Iqbal (2005). This immensely talented director was born on 30th March, 1967 in Hyderabad. His parents are Kusuma Sudershan and KS Naidu. He did his schooling at Montfort Anglo-Indian School in Tamil Nadu.
Nagesh Kukunoor then completed his intermediate from Little Flower Junior College, Hyderabad and graduated at Osmania University in Hyderabad in Chemical Engineering. He completed his Master`s degree in Chemical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. He studied Acting and Direction at the Warehouse Actor`s Theatre in Atlanta.
While he was doing engineering in USA, he produced the film of one hour named Hyderabad Blues. This movie was based on the script that he wrote in Atlanta. This is a story based on the Indians returning from America. He directed and acted in the movie. It was shot in 17 days. It was professed by Sanjay Arora, a filmmaker, to be realistic and among one of the first movies to use Hyderabadi Urdu language correctly.
Nagesh Kukunoor in later times directed the movie 3 Deewarein featuring established actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Juhi Chawla and Jackie Shroff. In the year 2006, Nagesh Kukunoor wrote and directed "Dor", a drama film featuring Ayesha Takia, Gul Panag and Shreyas Talpade as the lead actors.
Kuknoor delineates the art of filmmaking as an examination of assurance and sureness and definitely put conviction of an individual because he feels making movies is a lengthy and solitary journey, and one has to maintain sanity during the incubation period. Whether it is the story of a deaf and mute boy in Iqbal or the fate of two different women crossing the same path in Dor, Kukunoor has touched the hearts of the audience with his high-on-emotion stories.
“Whenever any filmmaker embarks on the journey of making a film, it"s a very long, solo fight. You have to believe very strongly in the subject matter that you are dealing with,†Kukunoor told in an interview. “By the time it reaches the audience, it takes almost a year-and-a-half. So you have to keep your head sane during that period,†added the director, who entered Bollywood with the 1998 movie Hyderabad Blues.
His one of the most major film Iqbal was written by Vipul K Rawal. This film, featuring Shreyas Talpade and Naseeruddin Shah, won a lot of critical acclaim for the simple yet heart rendering script and the acting by all actors. He made another commercial film "8x10 Tasveer" (2009) featured by Akshay Kumar in the lead role.
Filmography of Nagesh Kukunoor
* One Culture at a time (1995) Short film
* Hyderabad Blues (1998)
* Rockford (1999)
* Bollywood Calling (2001)
* 3 Deewarein (2003)
* Hyderabad Blues 2 (2004)
* Iqbal (2005)
* Dor (2006)
* Bombay to Bangkok (2008)
* 8x10 Tasveer (2009)
* Aashayein (2010)
* Mod (2011)
Awards won by Nagesh Kukunoor
* National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues - Iqbal - 2006
* Film fare Award for Best Story - 3 Deewarein - 2004
* Teacher`s Achievement Award for Creative and Performing Arts - 2002
* 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
