Thailand charms Nagesh
By Asian Age, 28 December, 2007

Director Nagesh Kukunoor is back after a long shooting schedule of his forthcoming venture Bombay To Bangkok, and says that shooting of this film has been the healthiest shoot he has ever experienced.

"We are into the unhealthiest profession and this applies to all across the board. So we started working out on the sets and it was great fun. Cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee, sound designer Vipin Bhati, Shreyas and I used to work out on the sets. We have lots of behind-the-scenes footage and stills during the shoot. The beauty of Thailand was that we got to eat everything fresh. There were fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh seafood. I am a foodie so I thrived on seafood," said Kukunoor.

Kukunoor is one director who loves to expose virgin locales in his films. Be it the golden sands of the Rajasthan desert in Dor or the massive Himalayas he has explored in this film. "That’s the beauty of this profession," says Kukunoor. "You get to shoot different lands and their cultures. I am not a studio guy. For me the joy comes from shooting on real locales. Location is a character by itself. It’s an important part of the film. I’ve shot the film in the southern part of the country. I plan to make my next film in northern Thailand. It’s that beautiful," says the Iqbal director.

The film introduces Lina Christianson, a Thailand girl in the lead. "We have often seen an Indian man falling in love with a white girl but never an Oriental girl. Lina is brilliant in the film. After long auditions with so many gorgeous looking women we zeroed in on Lina. She speaks Thai, a few broken words of English and Hindi. Shreyas is a brilliant actor and we didn’t want her to be a mere caricature," informs Kukunoor.

After Iqbal and Dor, Bombay to Bangkok will be Nagesh’s third film with Shreyas. "This is the first time he is carrying the film on his shoulders. In Iqbal I didn’t know him that well, and in Dor he performed a small role and was mimicking actors. Shreyas is very goofy in the film. Sometimes he can overact and I had to keep reminding him to cut it out. That’s the beauty of working with Shreyas," he gushes.

But was working with Shreyas always easy? "There are scenes where I had to make Shreyas kiss Lina a lot in the film and that was not easy. After eight takes he finally gave the right shot. Lina was very natural but Shreyas was making all kinds of faces during the shot," reveals Kukunoor.