The Hunt director Nagesh Kukunoor: Nearly impossible to make something political now

India Today

18-07-2025

Nagesh Kukunoor-directed 'The Hunt- The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case' has been receiving a lot of love from audiences. However, the filmmaker had his doubts before taking up the SonyLiv show, as he was hesitant to venture into anything political. In an exclusive chat with India Today, Kukunoor opened up about adapting 'Ninety Days' into a series, and why he typically refrains from handling sensitive subjects.Discussing how the series came about, Nagesh Kukunoor shared that the initial conversation began between Applause and Anirudhya Mitra around his book 'Ninety Days: The True Story of the Hunt for Rajiv Gandhi's Assassins'. The production house then approached him to direct the show, but his initial reaction was a firm no."When Sameer Nair called me, my initial response was a no because I did not want to do anything political. He told me, 'Just give the book a read, it has nothing to do with politics'. And literally, it came out as a true crime thriller. After reading the book, I knew how I would position this show as - a police procedural. Once in my head, I was clear that I wouldn't put my finger on any kind of politics, then I knew I was okay. But it didn't make the job any less challenging. Each scene that you write it's so arduous at times because you know you're writing scenes based on real-life characters. Some of them were still alive. And that stress is always there, and I hope they're not misrepresented. I hope it's not showing them in a [bad light]. It was something new for me. And so yes, it was lovely to just go back into fiction and write whatever the crap it is," he shared with a loud laugh.advertisementWe also spoke to him about the challenges filmmakers face when dealing with political themes today. Calling it 'nearly impossible', the director said, "The self-censorship is so high. No one wants to, and sometimes it doesn't need to be political. It will be some random person somewhere who sets something off, and then the media picks it up, and it gets into the political scene. So, it's an unfortunate side product of the times that we're in."Kukunoor added that this was also the reason why he has chosen to stay away from social media. "Because you put a picture of just yourself, and 20 guys will say, 'Do you think of yourself as a hero?' I don't want this. I don't want people pumping hot air and saying, 'Sir, you look amazing, what do you do?' I don't want either of those. Go watch my work.. If it's good, it will make it to the news. I don't need to hear compliments from a random person, sitting in a city miles away. I have zero desire for that kind of input into my life."
READ THE HUNT REVIEW HEREThe 'Iqbal' director also touched upon the pressure on public figures expected to take a stand on every topical subject. He shared that he doesn't understand why it's important for his voice to be heard. "If you ask me about filmmaking, I'll say, okay, I have a voice. I make films like this, and that's my breakdown. There's a process. But if you ask me about, like, rocket science, I wouldn't have an answer. Also, why is my opinion so important? People are so driven by opinions and what others say. I may have opinions, but I need not voice them," Kukunoor said.Starring Amit Sial, Danish Iqbal, Bhagavathi Perumal, Sahil Vaid, Vidyuth Gargi, and Girish Sharma, The Hunt is streaming on SonyLiv.- Ends