"Sic Production is the company owned by Elahe (Hiptoola) and me and we made eight films under that banner, as identification of Sic Production was a mandate. Even after repeatedly putting Sic Production in the poster, people couldn't identify that they were my films," Kukunoor told IANS in an interview.
"I made the first film 'Hyderabad Blues' under the Kukunoor Movies banner. It seems to have a stronger connect with the people; so we thought let's bring the name back and make it Kukunoor Movies. When people see, they at least identify whose film it is. Now it's like nostalgia flash marketing choice," he added.
His next, "Mod", a love story, which marks the comeback of actress Ayesha Takia on the big screen, is made under Kukunoor Movies. VJ Ranvijay plays the male lead in it.
"I had said that I would never do a love story but in this field you never say never because you never know where the story pops up from. That has enough for me to tell a love story, but in a completely different way that would be gratifying to me and my sensibilities," said Kukunoor.
The film is said to be a Hindi adaptation of the Vietnamese movie "Keeping Watch", but Kuknoor describes it as a fresh story.
"This is still my story. The core is from 'Keeping Watch', which is about this lonely girl and how a stranger walks into her life and how a relationship develops in a small town. When we talk about an adaptation, it might not be 100 percent original but it's original on how you interpret it. It's an absolutely fresh thought at the backdrop of a small hill station town," said the 44-year-old actor-director.
He feels Indian cities have lost their distinct features; so he makes a conscious effort to plot his story at the backdrop of the interiors of the country, which still maintain some of their old identifiable characteristics.
"I have always made a conscious effort to move out from the bigger city and to some remote town and villages because that's where the last reminiscence of India remains...I don't shoot in studios, I shoot in real locations; so I want that real location to talk to me, talk to the film. If that doesn't happen then there is no point," said Kukunoor, a chemical engineer before becoming a filmmaker.
Kukunoor played the main lead in his debut film "Hyderabad Blues", but now doesn't want to compromise with his direction.
"I don't want to become self-indulgent. At the end of the day, I don't want to compromise with my film. I am very clear about that. If I think I can play any character of my film but if it's going to take a lot of my time and effort, which may take me away from directing, then I won't attempt it," he said.
