Hrishikesh Mukherjee saw “Iqbal” 5 times in a row and requested a meeting with the director of the film. Little did he know that the director Nagesh Kukunoor has had only two idols – the singing legend Kishore Kumar and Hrishikesh Mukherjee himself.
Nagesh never got the opportunity to meet Kishore Kumar and he was not going to let the opportunity to meet Hrishi da slip by. Nagesh says he never thought he would connect on so many levels with the man who he admired from afar and then grew to admire in person. Hrishi da’s sensibilties, his genuine humility, his ability to make you feel you’d known him forever was something Nagesh felt very deeply.
Nagesh seldom does interviews about Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Its partly because he has never felt the need to tom tom his relationship and partly also because of the sorrow and anger he has felt on seeing those who were greatly indebted to the great film maker in so many ways, ignore him while he was alive, in the last few years of his life, and then come out of the woodwork after he died to grab their piece of the media attention.
Perhaps the media in India is also to blame.With scandals, superficial news and the race for TRPS replacing meaningful writing, its not surprising then that brilliant film makers like Bimal Roy, Satyajit Ray and Hrishi da himself don’t make front page news.
It has been our mutual love for Hrishi da and being on the same page, that has made Nagesh comfortable enough to share some thoughts on the great film maker, in this exclusive conversation with me.
(This interview was recorded as part of Kavita’s Tribute to the late film maker Hrishikesh Mukherjee.)
