Shoojit Sircar has his heart in the mouth for the moment. With his latest offering Piku all set for release in the first week of May, the maverick filmmaker is feeling the heat. The five-film-old director is not too bothered about awards and the `100 crore club but he is hoping that the audience will have something to take away from Piku, like they did from Vicky Donor. The method director had constipation as a film subject on his mind for over two years, he tells Deebashree Mohanty
It’s 9 pm on a Wednesday and Shoojit Sircar is not done for the day yet. He has to visit another studio for another film, has a sound recording session to attend to and has to meet his marketing team to get Piku rolling. “I will call it a day at 3 am or so,” the busy, in-demand filmmaker, says. His upcoming film, Piku, is all set for release on May 8 and Sircar wants to pack the final punches.
“We cannot go wrong from here. I have worked on this script for two long years and have worked on every minute detail. The marketing of the film and publicity has to be spot on,” says the meticulous Sircar, who likes getting things in order much in advance.
That is one reason why he had constipation on his mind for two years before giving it shape in the form of Piku. “When we were wrapping up Vicky Donor, I thought to myself that we need to deal with more day-to-day pressing issues. Constipation is a huge deal in every family and at some point it forms the basis of all discussion. I knew this had to be the crux of my next movie and kept thinking about it,” Sircar tells you , albeit with a warning that ‘Piku is not just about the motion. It is very much a father-daughter relationship and how they deal with minor problems together,” he says.
For him, Piku was a winner the moment he rolled his camera for the very first shot. “Imagine getting Irrfan and Amitabh Bachchan together in one frame,” the director says, unable to hide his excitement. Sircar reveals that he was the one who was most nervous about the film. “I don’t know about the stars (they are all veterans in their own right) but I had butterflies in my stomach. This was a huge project and I was dealing with such mega starcast for the first time. It was unbelievable and scary at the same time,” he tells you from Mumbai.
Although he is born in West Bengal, Sircar considers New Delhi to be is home. The maverick filmmaker has attended theatre workshops in the Capital and he feels there is much more buzz around here. “Shooting in Delhi is an experience in itself. Nowhere else will you find such enthused crowd support and decent ground support from the staff,” he says. Sircar was addressing a conference about his latest movie and got emotional while talking about Delhi.
So, was it not difficult to convince the stars to come on board for such a subjectIJ “Not at all. Amitji is such a veteran that he looks at the director and can say whether the film will work for him or not. Ninety-nine per cent of the times he is bang on. Deepika was excited about the film from the very moment she read the script. Irrfan, too, was pleased about the idea. The only person uncomfortable was me,” he says, laughingly. His biggest challenge was to direct Irrfan and Amitabh Bachchan for their first scene together. “I almost forgot to look into the camera when these two came together for the first time on the sets,” he says.
He likes to go into any release with zero expectations but the post production marketing has encouraged Sircar to believe he has a winner up his sleeves. “I have been made to realise that promoting a film in a big but healthy way is essential. The audience needs to know and anticipate the film before it actually visits the theatre. For Piku, we had a decent budget set aside for the marketing of the film. We have spent on every aspect. Even the trailer launches were made on a big scale. Deepika participated in the trailer activities and that generated a lot of buzz around the film,” he says. The first launch on YouTube was watched by 2 million users within 24 hours of it being uploaded.
Coming back to the interview; Sircar informs that he is not a morning person. “I will get up aaram se and will laze for a bit before being up and running. But once I am out of my house, I am constantly on my toes. I am a friendly director but a hard task master too. There are some things that need to be done in a stipulated time period. If it is not, then it loses its charm,” he tells you from Mumbai. He has so far made just five films and only three of them have been released.
His debut movie Yahaan in 2005 was a love story set in troubled Kashmir valley and he managed to carve a niche for himself with it. His second film, Amitabh Bachchan starrer Shoebite focussing on a 60 plus man who sets out on a journey of self-discovery is yet to see the light of the day. “I have no grievances from life. Yahaan started off on a good note and got a lot of critical acclaim.Shoebite was a wonderful concept but unfortunately it is still in the box. I am not sure whether we will revive the film in the future,” he says, adding that there are other more interesting things to look forward to.
Known for his different sensibilities and film making techniques, Sircar admits that he will only make a commercial movie if it makes sense to him. Making films just for the heck of it is not his style of working. “See, I can never handle subjects like Dabangg and Krrish, for instance. The movies are made on a very high budget and involve a lot of technicalities. I believe in making small-budget films that intend to both entertain and inform,” he says.
He thinks it is a huge waste of time, energy and resources to include item numbers in a film when there is no value for it. “I am not being judgmental here. But when there is no need for an item dance sequence, why go for it in the first placeIJ It is sheer waste of money and energy. I don’t believe one dance number can change the fate of the film on its head. I agree that music is the heart and soul of a movie, but you don't need to make it extravagant. In Yahaan, Shantanu Moitra, a college friend, came on board as a composer and he cast a spell with his soulful numbers. But mind you, there was no background music and my R&AW agents were not running around trees expressing their love,” he says.
In 2012, Sircar proved his mettle with Vicky Donor, a light-hearted drama revolving on the subject of sperm donation. This was followed by the highly acclaimed Madras Cafe — a gritty drama starring John Abraham based on the Sri lankan conflict in the 1980s . With this, he sealed his fate as a thinking and sensible filmmaker.
“Vicky Donor was the game changer for me. No one expected it to be such a cult hit and receive world wide appreciation for the subject. Most people within the industry, thought I was depressed and a failure and that was the reason why I made such a gross film on such a gross subject. People felt I was making such a film just to attract the attention of the audience. I am happy that my critics have been silenced in the best manner possible,” the National Award winner for Vicky Donor in 2012, says.
The award came as a huge surprise for Sircar. He had to call his wife Jhuma to re-confirm. “She was thrilled too. It was a real honour for all of us. We rely a lot on team work and this Award was for all of us. I couldn't have done this without everyone’s support,” the modest director says.
Although the award and honour came in at the right time, the director tells you he doesn’t churn out movies for the sake of a recognition. And that is the reason why he doesn’t believe in a robust budget for his films. He would much rather take up a social issues and give it an innovative twist. That, Sircar believes sells more than masala no-brainers.
“Sperm donation was a difficult subject to deal with. It was a reality and everyone knew about it but no one had the guts to make cinema on this subject. We have to think out of the box. Similarly with Piku, constipation is an issue and everyone will agree to it. But no one wants to discuss about the same. If this is not hypocrisy then what isIJ,” he asks.
Today, he is offered money to make a sequel to Vicky Donor almost everyday but he says there is no such plans as of now. “My phone keeps buzzing everyday with producers wanting me to make a sequel. But I don’t think there is any ground left to be covered. I think John Abraham and I are on the same page on this issue. We have not lost it yet,” he says. Sircar describes his relationship with Abraham as that of a understanding one. “We share a good rapport. I would say that John and I are married in thought, but not yet fighting as a couple,” he tells you.
He is currently busy with his production venture Running Shaadi.com, but he is ignorant about several aspects of marketing and production. He reveals that he was not very comfortable donning the shoes of the producer for this film. “I don’t understand many things about pure production. I am a creative producer, my understanding is limited to creative content. I have zero knowledge about marketing and promotion,” he says. Whatever little he has managed to learn about the management technicalities have been taught to him by John Abraham. “During the making of Vicky Donor, John taught me a thing or two about marketing and how to sell a film in public domain,” he says. He is producing Running Shaadi.com under his banner Rising Sun Films.
He tells you that after Madras Cafe, he wanted to do a light-hearted subject and first-timer Amit Roy presented him with the perfect script. “I got the script of this film right after I had wrapped up Madras Cafe. I was really exhausted. So, when I read this, I liked it. It’s a light subject but there is a lot of deep thinking that has gone into it. It’s my kind of film,” he says.
The film starring Amit Sadh and Taapsee Pannu just went on floors in Amritsar. It will primarily be shot in Punjab. For Sircar, whether or not his films get into the 100 crore club, all that matters is whether the audience enjoyed the film and took back a memory with them. “I genuinely want the audience to have a ball of a time while watching my cinema.
They should step out of the theatre feeling light and happy and not bored and perplexed. Bas itna sa khwab hai,” the filmi filmmaker ends with one of his favourite expressions in Bollywood.