The Blueberry Hunt by Anup Kurian opens in NYC, Dallas, Houston and Columbus

The Blueberry Hunt by Anup Kurian opened in AMC Theters in Dallas, Houston and New York and Screens 8 in Columbus, Ohio. 

It is the story of a man with an unknown identity, who grows highly potent marijuana in his remote estate bordering the jungles in Kerala as a last chance to get rich. As his precious crop gets ready for harvest his life turns upside down. 

Naseeruddin Shah portrays the title role of a man with many names. Shah's performance in The Blueberry Hunt is considered as one of the best performances in his storied career, as well as a textbook example on how a master actor portrays a character. 

The Blueberry Hunt also introduces famous fashion designer Sarah Eapen as the stylist, the popular Nagaland music group Cultural Vibrants, the lyricist Murali Bandaru, music director Dheena Dhayalan, and the Hindi debut of popular Marathi playback singer Kirti Killedar. The film also marks the debut of the famous Bombay based Malayalee fashion designer Sarah Eapen in Indian cinema. ​

​The crew of the film are mostly Malayalees - DOP Viswamangal Kitsu, Sound Designer Gissy Michael etc. ​ 

Another highlight of The Blueberry Hunt are the dramatic scenes between Naseeruddin Shah and his student at film school, the young actress Aahana Kumra. The Teacher-Student relationship transcends into explosive dramatic moments as performers in silver screen. Aahana also performed as the daughter of Amitabh Bachchan in the TV series YUDH and is now playing Agent Trisha, the main protagonist in the hit TV series Agent Raghav. ​​

The Blueberry Hunt is the second feature film of Writer/Director  Anup Kurian. His first film “Manasarovar” in 2005 won all the Best Debut Director Prizes in India

​ including ARAVINDAN PURASKARAM, Gollapudi Srinivas National Award etc.​

, the best film prize at International Film Festival Mumbai, selected to more than 20 international festivals, and was screened at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC as a representative film of early 21st century Indian cinema. Both 'Manasarovar' and 'The Blueberry Hunt'  are Produced under the banner Visual Possibility. 

Q & A with Aahana Kumra 

1. What was the catalyst for you to get into acting? What made you decide this is what I want to do in my life? 

I always knew I wanted to be an actor unconsciously but since I was growing up in Lucknow and no one in my family belonged to the film industry, it was something that i never spoke or discussed at home. I used to watch Hindi and Disney animation films on loop and used to mouth dialogues. I remember very clearly when i moved to Bombay at the age of 13, I was most excited about the freedom this city provided to a girl who had be home everyday at 5 pm in Lucknow. I started watching star movies when i was in 10th standard while staying home to study for my board exams and I was so inspired by the actors in the west that i used to wonder how does one start acting. I was always involved with theatre in school but once I completed my board exams, my friends and I enrolled into a summertime workshop at prithvi Theatre in juhu. And that was it. I did everything in my capacity to stay at Prithvi. From selling tickets to assisting in the festival to doing backstage, I did everything related to the stage. One thing led to another and after my graduation, my mother enrolled me into Whistling Woods because she knew I wanted to act and told me something I'll never forget. She said "In order that you excel in your field you must educate yourself and since one of us belong to this industry, you must go to a film school." Naseer Sir is my teacher and mentor and I am truly lucky that I met him at film school and have been associated with him and Motley ever since. In fact he called me for my first film "The Blueberry Hunt." and since then there has been no looking back! 

2. How did you prepare for the character of Jaya in The Blueberry Hunt? 

Jaya, is a medical student in her first year. I knew i had to play a captive. When I got the script, I knew it was a huge responsibility because I was getting an opportunity to work with my teacher and mentor but also with one of the finest actor in india. We had readings before the shoot and during the shoot, I was back to my classroom sessions with sir which was such a wonderful feeling. I had already been to a medical college with my friend to see how the students behave and attended a lecture along with them. I clearly remember that when i shot my first scene with sir, I had to be drugged, he told me one thing I'll never forget, "Aahana, remember ,don't be afraid to look ugly, it's your job to look the character so don't be scared at all." There were other scenes when I had to try to run away and be scared. He would just ask me not to speak to anyone before the scenes were being shot to seclude myself from the crew. And it made all the difference.  

3. What was different from working with Naseeruddin Shah as a teacher in your film school, and performing with him on a film? 

What was different about Sir being in class and on set was a hands on experience I was living. I was seeing him transform from Naseeruddin Shah to Colonel. When he would be on set he would be Colonel but he was still conscious that he had to guide me through. Also, some wonderful experiences when Sir would read Ismat Chugtai's stories to me in between shots. We would sit by the stream in the most gorgeous Vagamon and sir would read to us stories, discuss his process, discuss his FTII and NSD days. He became a friend and family. I was always afraid of sir when I was in film school but here I wasn't afraid to ask questions, to make mistakes, because i knew i have a guiding force.

 4. What are your current projects? Upcoming projects? 

I'm currently part of a TV show called "Agent Raghav" for And TV. It's a crime investigative show where I play a CBI Officer. And have completed another film called "Lipstick Waale Sapne" directed by Alankrita Shrivastav for Prakash Jha Productions. I'm currently part of 2 major theatre productions., "Gadha aur Gaddha" with Motley and "Sir Sir Sarla" with Ansh Theatre Group directed by Makrand Deshpande.