Modern Love Hyderabad director Nagesh says 'Revathi had to work hard due to language barrier' | Exclusive
India Today
Modern Love Hyderabad director Nagesh Kukunoor on directing Revathi and Nithya Menen. The show premieres on Amazon Prime Video from July 8.
Modern Love Hyderabad is all set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video. The anthology features three short stories, directed by director Nagesh Kukunoor, who forays into Telugu language cinema. One of his short stories, titled "My Unlikely Pandemic Partner" features Revathi and Nithya Menen in pivotal roles. While Nithya has predominantly worked in Telugu cinema, Revathi is known for her work in Tamil cinema. Chatting with IndiaToday.in, director Nagesh recounts what these actresses brought to the table with their experiences. He also responds to the language debate and questions, 'how can any language be superior?'
Speaking about directing Revathi and Nithya Menen, Nagesh tells IndiaToday.in, "One of the most joyous things about being a director is the fact that when you work with different actors, provided the actors are not duffers, they bring their interpretation to the table. And invariably, when I start the whole process, I don't actively do like 100 table reads. I just hear the actors read once and then believe in making the discovery on set. And with these two actresses, Revathi and Nithya came from two completely different spaces. Nithya has worked a lot in Telugu. So, she speaks Telugu and is extremely organic. She just takes the lines, feels them, and runs with them. Revathi, on the other hand, is also a terrific actress who doesn't speak Telugu. So, her process of interpreting a character comes in broad strokes."
He continues, "Revathi had to work doubly hard at making sure that she truly absorbed the lines and translates them because of the language barrier. So, there were two processes that were really different."
Nagesh also shares that for him, directing someone who doesn't understand the language was challenging. "Directing an actor who didn't understand the language was a challenge. Today, when we finished the shoot, and I saw the edit, that was when I realized all the beautiful things that Revathi had done, which I hadn't actively caught on set because I was working so hard at making sure that the pronunciation and the lines were right. I did call her up and tell her exactly that. It was such a memorable experience working with the duo," he exclaims.The director also weighs on the language debate and asks, "How can any language be superior? Seriously? I mean, everything is just communication, right? And that's not a diplomatic answer. It's ironic that some language is considered to be superior to another. Languages evolve organically, region-wise. And that's that."He elaborates, "It's beautiful when people speak multiple languages. And I think that's the greatest part about India, right? Having so many languages in such chaos, that when you embrace it, it's so much fun. So to have any kind of, you know, one is better than the other debate, I think is a little naïve."Nagesh also explains, "I'm speaking specifically for myself that Telugu is my mother tongue. I spoke very little of it. I only spoke it at home. But everything outside in Hyderabad, while growing up and everything was English. And that's why I transitioned to Hindi cinema much more easily than I did Telugu. But, do I love Telugu any less? Absolutely not!"'My Unlikely Pandemic Partner' features Revathi and Nithya Menen in a love story that stems from their love for food. Modern Love Hyderabad premieres on July 8, 2022.
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