Freeze frame: Nagesh Kukunoor gets candid about Mission Covershot

What prompted you to be a part of Mission Covershot?
It’s a matter of timing. The post production of my film Lakshmi was going on and I had locked in the edit. That’s when NatGeo offered me the show, a competition between photographers with the best one making it to the cover of the magazine. I found it exciting because it was right up my alley. The bonus was the shoot in Sri Lanka.

On what basis have you judged the photographers?
Photography has a lot to do with my living as a director.
After all, it is all about composition. I look for a picture that grabs me and not go into the analysis. It’s all about the visceral reaction and it has been unbelievably enjoyable as every picture had a task woven around it — like trekking up the hill to get a sunrise shot! It helped me tap into my adventurous side, culture and new kinds of food.

Tell us what Lakshmi is all about?
It’s a project that I have harboured for quite a while. I support an NGO that rescues girls who are forced into prostitution.
Many of those girls have gone through horrific incidents. But there was this one girl who fought the system, took the traffickers to court and won the case. I got the central idea for my film from that. But I have taken many stories and woven a fictional account. It has Ram Kapoor playing a lawyer and Shefali Shah in a pivotal role.

Will we see you acting in it?
Yes, after Teen Deewarein I decided to act in this. And the role I chose to play was that of a pimp. I thought I would be the best person to understand and interpret the role.

When is it releasing?
I have submitted the film to Cannes Film Festival. I will be taking it to all major film festivals before releasing it in July-August. I have always wanted to make films that can be showcased world over, not just in India.

You were right up there with films like Iqbal and Dor but after Tasveer 8 x 10 and Aashayein, stakes have gone down...
Lot of it is fate. I got into the business of filmmaking with the intention of making a movie from my heart. I did not want to end up playing the Bollywood game. Now onwards, I will make one strong authentic film and one that is slightly commercial. I have never been a hardcore commercial filmmaker.