Theatre director Arun Kuckreja has come up with three movies which talk about peace, friendship and love. He tells Shrabasti Mallik that one of them is a tribute to his friend
As a filmmaker it is no easy job to complete couple of films, each dealing with different subjects, around the same time. But Arun Kuckreja has been doing that. And this time the filmmaker has come up with three films. He is also the music director for two films out of those three. They are Kuckar and Namaaz. The third is Megha and all were released on YouTube recently, he will officially release them, “somewhere around mid-November.”
While Megha is inspired by Kalidasa’s love poem Meghadutam, Namaaz revolves around the theme of internationalisation. “But Kuckar holds a special importance to me because it is more like an autobiography,” he says.
Kuckar traces his childhood with his friend Medha Gujral, who is currently having a pacemaker installed in an already transplanted heart in the US. He says, “This is my way of immortalising her. I wanted to highlight the special bond that we share.” Arun conceived the idea the moment he came to know of the surgery. The movie starts with Arun receiving the lifetime Achievement Award and flashes back to his childhood. He has spun the story around him, Medha and Noddy and his toy land. “Kuckar begins with ‘Hurrah for Noddy’ and ends with ‘Be brave little Noddy’, signature lines from Blyton’s book,” he says, quickly adding the main reason behind choosing the lines. “After the first transplant the doctors gave Medha an ultimatum of two years but she has lived a long healthy 12 years.”
Not only that, he has also penned the lyrics for the 16 minute movie: Bachpan Ke Woh Chaubare/Yaad Woh Nukkad Aate Hai/Shukra Hai Aaj Bhi Kuch log/Mujhe Kuckar Bulate Hain. He says, “I wanted to stick to my baal kalya (childhood) because that is one part of life that never comes back — where everything was simple and good.”
Namaaz, however, takes a serious tone as it delves into the life of the protagonist, a religious scholar who tries to spread love in the world torn by hatred. It is the journey of Tani (debutant Maulshri Shukla Rajdhan) whose detailed study of religions makes her realise that Nobel prizes do not make laureates, love does. She chooses love as her religion. Arun says, “I believe that it was the right time to bring up such a topic because we hear so much about violence and aggression. The world is engulfed in fire and I was moved by the condition of the women in Gaza.”
Arun’s fascination with the prologue and epilogue continues in his third movieMegha (The Cloud). The movie opens and closes with lines from Kalidasa’s text, translated by Arun. He shares, “What I wanted to share with this movie is the importance of the feminine laughter. It is something which is soothing to the ears and also throws light on the future of humanity which lies within her. Megha begins with a woman crying and ends with her laughter, while lines from the poem are read in the background.” The song Ab Ke Sawan has been sung by Begum Akhtar while the rest of the music has been taken from the archives of Girija Devi’s Jhoola.
As a filmmaker, he has used the advantages of digital media to the maximum in his movies, especially in Megha. “Most of the special effects have been introduced during the post production to highlight the mood of the theme,” he says and feels grateful for the rapid advancements of the modern technologies. He also believes in the potential of new and raw talents, which is evident in the fact that he has cast fresh faces for his movies. “I think debutants should be encouraged. That is why I am planning to release a CD with a collection of about 20 songs, in the voice of Savera Chauhan, another debutante,” he rounds off.