The confidence to work in Telugu has grown tenfold because of Modern Love Hyderabad, says Nagesh Kukunoor

It surprised many that it took so long for an accomplished filmmaker like Nagesh Kukunoor, the man behind films like Hyderabad Blues, Rockford, Iqbal and Dor, to make his Telugu debut in 2022 with Keerthy Suresh-starrer Good Luck Sakhi. The sports comedy premiered on Amazon Prime Video post its theatrical release and incidentally, it's the same platform for which the filmmaker will be making his Telugu digital debut too, with Modern Love Hyderabad, produced under SIC Productions.

Modern Love Hyderabad, for the uninitiated, is the Telugu adaptation of the show based on the famous New York Times column, that was earlier made in English and Hindi as well. Nagesh Kukunoor hasn't only directed three out of the six shorts in the anthology but is also the showrunner, supervising the other films too. In a recent interaction, he shared that working on Modern Love gave him immense confidence to make more content in his mother tongue, Telugu.

Though Good Luck Sakhi is officially his Telugu debut, the storyteller mentions it was Modern Love Hyderabad that provided him the opportunity to give his own distinctive touches to the stories. Despite Telugu being his mother tongue, Hyderabad's environs familiarised him with English and Dakhni early in his life and made his transition to Hindi cinema smoother over the years. 

Over the years, when many asked Nagesh about his long-pending Telugu debut, he would always tell them that he would take it up only when he feels confident about tackling the language. Nagesh says it was sheer coincidence that he commenced shooting Good Luck Sakhi just before Modern Love. "Otherwise, I think my first foray into the Telugu space would have been Modern Love Hyderabad because it allowed me to explore different kinds of stories. It gave me a chance to be creative in writing," he added.

Unlike a feature him where he has to stick to a storyline and think what works or doesn’t for the audience, Modern Love Hyderabad gave Nagesh a free reign. Hence, it made his Telugu digital space more exciting. Having shot an entire Telugu show has helped him open up to the language, industry more and now, he's keener on working frequently here. "Clearly, my confidence to work with my mother tongue has grown tenfold because of the show and by working with multiple actors. So, I think I might do more".

Nagesh Kukunoor's shorts for Modern Love Hyderabad are Suhasini Maniratnam-Naresh Agastya's ‘Why did she leave me there’, Ritu Varma-Aadhi Pinisetty starrer ‘Fuzzy, Purple & Full of Thorns’, and Nithya Menen – Revathy's ‘My Unlike Pandemic Dream Partner’.The other episodes are directed by Venkatesh Maha, Uday Gurrala and Devika Buhadhanam and the cast also comprises Abijeet Duddala, Malavika Nair, Ulka Gupta, Naresh and Komalee Prasad. Modern Love Hyderabad premieres on Amazon Prime Video on July 8.