Kundan’s Kasturi

Kundan ShaKundan Shah, known for his cult satire, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), has also tackled some taboo and controversial subjects in his career spanning over three decades. The director, who is also known to not bow down to star pressure, had cast actors like Shah Rukh Khan in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994) and Preity Zinta in Kya Kehna (2000) before they became big stars. So, it’s not a big surprise that he cast new girl Meenakshi Dixit in his latest political satire, P Se PM Tak.

The veteran director says, “I work with actors, not stars. If they are stars, it’s merely incidental. The biggest difference is that you can groom actors, make them shine, while stars come with their sheen that can overshadow the character.”

The movie revolves around how a commercial sex worker, Kasturi, gets involved in a political rigmarole.

All praise for his new protégée, Shah says, “As an actor, Meenakshi completely surrendered to my vision of the character. It’s by no means an easy task to pull off the character of Kasturi and she has done it brilliantly.”