Mumbai (PTI): Filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor says he has made a deliberate attempt to be different in the tone and genre of his movies to avoid being slotted into a particular bracket.

"I don't want get bored. Primarily, I want to be excited as a filmmaker. I consciously see to it that I am thrilled while doing each film," Kukunoor told PTI.

He admitted that this might not work with the audiences each time as proved by the box office debacle of his last film "Bombay to Bangkok".

"It was a light hearted comedy and perhaps with the success of earlier films like "Iqbal" and "Dor," the comedy genre was not taken well by my audience. Perhaps, they went to see "Bombay to Bangkok" thinking that it was in the same league as the previous two films," he said.

But Kukunoor said he is determined not to pander to audience's tastes and make films which make him happy. "Ups and downs are part of show business. Making films with conviction and belief is the only thing, a filmmaker can do," he felt.

The comedy genre is not new to me. My debut film "Hyderabad Blues" was a light hearted film and even "Bollywood Calling" was a comedy, he said.

Speaking about his upcoming film "Aashayein" which releases on June 20, Kukunoor said, "it is a drama where the driving force is 'live life now'. It is story of a compulsive gambler who discovers new meaning of fortune and life through a dramatic turn of events. It is a tale of the protagonist's journey from darkness to light-- about love, hate, life, death and above all hope".

On casting John Abraham, Kukunoor said, "it was a strange casting. I had not seen any of John's films earlier.

Just like Ayesha Takia in Dor, John's casting in Aashayein is against the type. In Dor, Ayesha's was more of a serious village girl character than her usual urban, bubbly characters essayed in movies till then."

John, he said, has the image of a "cool hunk" in his movies so far and in "Aashayein", he has lot of opportunity to portray his acting skills. "This has been a challenge and I am sure this film would be a milestone in John's career," he added.

The filmmaker said, "Aashayein" is about the triumph of human spirit and John would be seen in his strongest performance yet.

On reports that Subhash Ghai was miffed with him after the failure of "Bombay to Bangkok", he said "I have not spoken to him. I learnt about this from media reports only." When asked about the Akshay Kumar starrer "Tasveer", he said it is a thriller and will be released by the end of the year.

On reports that Akshay Kumar was not happy with him during an outdoor shooting, Kukunoor said, "we have no problems personally. There were problems during our shooting in Canada as we did not get good locations. Hence, only 50 per cent of the shooting could be done. We shot the rest of the film in Mumbai."

On playing the main lead, he said, "playing the lead will take too much out of me. Films are becoming large and complex and my primary love is direction. I have no plans to turn actor as of now".