Kookie Gulati’s latest directorial venture Dhokha Round D Corner is a thriller that stars R. Madhavan, Aparshakti Khurana, Darshan Kumaar and Khushalii Kumar. It hit screens on September 23. The film has opened to decent reviews.
Kookie’s last directorial The Big Bull released digitally in 2021 and garnered much acclaim. When asked about how much his life has changed since he helmed after a long sabbatical. He shares, “I can’t begin to tell you how amazing it has been post-release. Life turned around for me after The Big Bull. People started listening to me a little more seriously. It was definitely my validation for the stories I tell. It gave me confidence to tell my own stories. Someone like me, who came back after a sabbatical, needs this kind of a push.”
When further asked about being sceptical about a film like The Big Bull especially when a lot has been riding on him. He is all praise for Ajay Devgn reveals, “I thank Ajay Devgn for that since I shot Total Dhamaal with him as a creative director so he understood my vision. Since he is a director himself so he recognises other directors, I feel. His choice of directors is very good. His backing of The Big Bull gave me a lot of confidence, I won’t be able to meet him otherwise even in five years.”
All three films helmed by Kookie including Dhokha Round D Corner have his streak of storytelling. “Every filmmaker including me has a certain style of filmmaking since he/she might be inspired by watching a certain kind of cinema. It all comes from the kind of stories you heard. I never assisted anyone or studied filmmaking. I learned everything while watching behind the scenes. My film Dhokha Round D Corner is a thriller but I have kept it very subtle and not dark,” he explains.
On a concluding note, he reveals his favourite genre. “I love the thriller genre and that kind of space. I can make a romantic film look like a thriller. For me, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is a thriller in a way with too much drama happening throughout, a boy chasing a girl in a different country and standing against her family just to get her. I have always perceived it as a thriller drama. I have just started writing my next script with a very dear friend Milap Zaveri, who comes from a comedy space but it’s a comic thriller,” he signs off.
