SHOOJIT SIRCAR IS OPEN TO A DIGITAL RELEASE OF AYUSHMANN KHURRANA AND AMITABH BACHCHAN-STARRER GULABO SITABO; INFORMS VICKY KAUSHAL'S UDHAM SINGH IS IN POST-PRODUCTION
By Roshmila Bhattacharya, Mumbai Mirror | Updated: Apr 28, 2020, 06:00 IST
Shoojit Sircar is open to a digital release of Ayushmann Khurrana and Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Gulabo Sitabo; informs Vicky Kaushal's Udham Singh is in post-production
Shoojit Sircar discusses his Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer that was to hit theatres on April 17; informs that the Udham Singh biopic is in post-production
Amid a mass of anxious humanity, Shoojit Sircar is like a restful oasis, content at his Kolkata home, to which he flew back much before the lockdown. Sighing over lush green, homegrown mint leaves and expressing gratitude for the ever-handy mop, the creator of films like Vicky Donor, Piku and Pink, and a doting dad, is happy he doesn’t have to wake up early to pack his daughters’ tiffins and can be around them all day. “It’s a simple, disciplined, busy life, packed with routine chores, with a few hours to catch up on reading and a few documentaries. When you don’t know what the future holds, it’s best to shed the mental baggage, let go of ambitions, cut down on needs and be happy with the little you have,” he murmurs, his voice soothing over the wire.
The only disappointment is that his comedy-drama, Gulabo Sitabo, which reunited him with Ayushmann Khurrana after 10 years, and frequent collaborator Amitabh Bachchan, and was to release on April 17, has now been indefinitely delayed. “As a filmmaker, I’d want to see my film open in the theatres, but the situation today is unlike anything anyone had ever experienced. So, I’m open to a digital release if need be, but we will take a decision after May 3,” he shares.
Ayushmann Khurrana and Amitabh Bachchan in Gulabo Sitabo and Vicky Kaushal in Udham Singh
And what about the Sardar Udham Singh biopic, his most ambitious period film? Shoojit informs that he has finished shooting, but post production remains. “Since it is scheduled for January 2021, we are not thinking about it right now. I’d like a film like this to be a big screen experience. I have lived with this dream for so long that when we were shooting at Jallianwala Bagh, I had tears in my eyes,” he reminisces emotionally, all praise for Vicky Kaushal. “Today, after finishing the film, I can say with certainty that I can’t think of anyone but Vicky playing Udham. The role was tailor-made for him and he lived it.”
A change that Shoojit forsees is a boom in TV, going by escalating TRPs. He believes that soon people may get so comfortable with home entertainment that when life gets back to normal and cinemas reopen, only the aficionados will want to watch a film on the big screen. “The others will invest in a bigger and better TV or a home theatre. In this scenario, cost correction in film budgets and a cap on the price of film tickets is imperative. By then, people will have got into the habit of not spending much and saving for another calamity, so, it’s important to bring down inflated costs,” he reasons, pointing out that while actors, writers, filmmakers and a few senior technicians will survive the pandemic, it’s the spot boys, dress men and lower rung crew who will need looking after.
The filmmaker himself is happy that there is growing appreciation for his October, an audience for Madras Café and an resurgence in the popularity of Piku and Vicky Donor. The latter recently celebrated its eighth anniversary, with Vicky fans tweeting dialogues online. “I must have done something right for the film to touch so many hearts. What is even more heartening is that this story of a sperm donor became the stepping stone to other taboo subjects coming to the screen, many of them frontlined by Ayushmann, who has grown into a more relaxed and trained actor as was evident during the Gulabo Sitabo shoot,” he asserts.
The Big B and Ayushmann had collaborated with Shoojit years ago on Shoebite that remains unreleased. Is there hope of the film seeing the light of the day? “Now, that both the studios have come together, maybe it will. It’s my most innocent film since I was just starting out and the mind was pure. Every time someone discusses Shoebite, Mr Bachchan immediately calls me, as excited as a child. With him the relationship is one of mutual trust. On the last day of a film’s shoot, he looks at me with the unspoken query, ‘So, where’s the next script?’ which prompts me to write something We’ll definitely do something again together, he’s always on my radar,” admits the director.
Prod him on his next and he points out that after what we are currently undergoing, he hopes there is a change in audience’s perception and that the new sensibility will bring about a change in our filmmaking style and narrative. “I’ll be happy to bring simple and beautiful stories to the screen, but till a story evokes something in me, I’m quite happy in my Kolkata home, connecting with my inner self,” he signs off.
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