Filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor’s 3 Deewarein completes 22 years today. The film was a serious drama starring Naseeruddin Shah, Juhi Chawla, Jackie Shroff, Gulshan Grover and Kukunoor himself. He looked back at the film in an interview with us.
Nagesh Kukunoor on 22 years of 3 Deewarein, “I didn’t want to be labelled a funny director, this is my first truly fictional film”
Your first few films Hyderabad Blues and Bollywood Calling, to a large extent, changed the way we look at comedy in mass-oriented cinema in this country. Then why a grim prison drama?
I didn’t want to be labelled a funny director. I did make a simple sensitive film Rockford between the two satires. To my surprise, it wasn’t well received. I had a whole bank of scripts ready, and none of them fall into a specific genre. I felt the timing was right for me to move away from satire. Though 3 Deewarein has a docu-centric quality, it is in truth my first truly fictional film (laughs).
But it felt so real
I’m glad people found the film real. Because halfway through I had taken a U-turn when 3 Deewarein becomes progressively unreal. That had shaken some critics. I guess people don’t like the rules being changed without warning. Movie watchers who enjoyed the first realistic part of 3 Deewarein were annoyed by the film’s fantasy tone in the second-half, though I had warned audiences beforehand that I was attempting to marry two genres.
What made you choose your cast?
Juhi Chawla is strong. She was my first choice. When I was writing the script she was the only actor I had in mind. She’s amazing. On the first day of shooting she jokingly said, ‘You’re going to ruin my career because I’ve no idea what I’m doing.’ I snatched all references points from her. She learnt how much can be done with minimum expressions. She‘s an instinctively brilliant actress. During rehearsals I’d say, ‘Oh my God!’ and she’d go, ‘What did I do?!’”
When I was looking for someone to play the character Jaggu, I didn’t even know Jackie’s known as Jaggu. I was looking at some other actors for the role like Ajay Devgn. When I zeroed in on Jackie, he wanted to know why I wanted him. I felt audiences had seen him long enough in a certain way. I wanted him to underplay to a ridiculous degree.
Ishaan, whom Naseer finally played, was such well written role any competent actor could’ve carried it off. He’s a character with so much gall. But Jaggu needed to be cast with more care. As for Naseer, I think after a long time he came up with a performance as nuanced as this. And when people say he has only done the expected, it’s unfair to him. He busted his ass for the role.
And you played the third protagonist
I thought of myself in the third protagonist’s role as the character grew in the script. I’ve trained regularly as an actor for two years. As a director, I trained for about a week, that’s all. Though I’m predominantly a filmmaker, I enjoy acting. Ever since Hyderabad Blues, I’ve been continuously offered scripts. But not one of them comes with a script! I love the condescending advice that I should stick to direction, forget acting.
Were you comfortable making a film in Hindi?
A good chunk of 3 Deewarein is in English. The marketing department decided to pitch it as a Hindi film. In fact, I wanted to call the film by its English title. The labelling didn’t matter as long as my audience came for my film. Unfortunately, in 3 Deewarein, everyone thought I was making my first foray into Bollywood which wasn’t my intention at all. 3 Deewarein isn’t a Bollywood film. I had a problem with its positioning in the market. But I couldn’t push the film beyond a point. And no point in worrying about something I couldn’t control.
That’s what I wanted. All said and done, 3 Deewarein is a work of fiction. The finale tells the audience not to take it too seriously. I’m a great believer in fate. In my film, as in real life, fate plays mind-blowing tricks on an individual. The whole challenge of doing the cinematic ending was to make it believable. 3 Deewarein has two actors from Bollywood. But it isn’t a Bollywood film.
3 Deewarein goes into ugly area of physical abuse
Every bit of that seemingly improvised abuse on screen was written in the script. Spousal abuse in Hindi cinema is laughable. In real life it’s horrific. I wanted to show how physically abused woman can get pushed beyond endurance. When Juhi snaps I had to use the clichéd image of the mother goddess. I very clearly wanted to show how ugliness exists even in a wonderfully conducive environment. Even the jail I’ve created isn’t outwardly ugly. Though it looks so beautiful, no artificial light has been used. You see in a prison cell only moonlight and electric light from outside filters in. And that’s how we shot 3 Deewarein. If that made the frames in 3 Deewarein look beautiful, why fight it?
In fact, your prison looks sanitized with jailor Gulshan Grover looking like an avatar of V. Shantaram in Do Aankhen Barah Haath
I undertook considerable research. As a matter of fact, prison life in Hyderabad is exactly the way I’ve showed it. The Musheerabad jail where I shot 3 Deewarein was terminated. And believe me, the new jail that’s come up in its place is like a college campus. There’re television sets in every block. Prisoners can watch TV while they have lunch. As a matter of fact, part of the Musheerabad jail was still functional when we shot. A lot of times we had real prisoners and wardens on location. 3 Deewarein shaped up exactly how I wanted it. Unfortunately, it didn’t reach the audience in the right way.
More Pages: Teen Deewarein Box Office Collection , Teen Deewarein Movie Review
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