Film-maker Anup Kurian spoke of how veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah has given one of his greatest performances in "The Blueberry Hunt". The film centres around a recluse, locally known as "Colonel", played by Shah, who lives with his large German Shepherd dog in a lush green deserted estate on the high altitudes of Vagamon, Kerala.
Kurian says the "Ishqiya" actor has portrayed a never-before-seen character in the thriller. "He is an unbelievable actor. This will be considered one of his greatest performances in cinema. How often do you see Naseer with a gun, in an unusual character like this? A new experience for the audience.''
"The Blueberry Hunt" focuses on how the Colonel's plantation of a high potency variant of marijuana- Blueberry Skunk, gets ready for harvest but things go haywire at the last moment. Kurian, who had earlier directed the Atul Kulkarni starrer critically acclaimed "Manasarovar" said, the 66 year old actor performs in his own space.
"There were many occasions where I didn't say cut because he had gotten into his flow, which I didn't want to interrupt. I thought of keeping the film to one-hour thirty minutes, but in the end we had a one hour fifty five minute movie. He agreed to do the film for free. He loved the story. I had decent money to produce and Naseer said let's do it. Since I produce films myself, it takes a lot of effort to find funds, do a decent campaign and release it."
The film is scheduled to release theatrically on April 8.