He bends forward in his swanky office in Juhu and says in hushed tones: “Mumbai-te kauke bolish naa, Piku-ta aasholey ekta Bangla chhobi Hindi-te (Don’t tell anyone in Mumbai but Piku is actually a Bengali film in Hindi).” A Bangla chhobi with Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan! t2 had so many things to ask director Shoojit Sircar about Piku and he indeed had a lot to say over many cups of Darjeeling tea, brought from Calcutta. Sip on...

Which came first –– the father-daughter story or the idea to make a film about constipation?

They came together. My writer Juhi (Chaturvedi) came up with the story –– of this Bengali man who fights constipation every day and is also father to this independent working girl, Piku. Juhi was inspired by her grandfather. Also, being a daughter helped her write Piku. That was the starting point and then we developed it together. 

Was it the success of Vicky Donor that made you brainstorm and come up with another quirky story about body fluids?

No, no, not really. Vicky Donor definitely gave us confidence that something quirky and adventurous can be done in the mainstream space. But you can’t just invent ideas to repeat success stories. 

If you can describe the writing process that you and Juhi go through for every film...

Once the idea comes up, we bounce it off Ronnie (Lahiri, Shoojit’s producer partner at Rising Sun Films) first. And then we start having addas about the film. These are not traditional script sessions. These addas could be about anything and everything but somewhere the idea keeps getting fleshed out more and more. We also filter a lot of things. And then after we have discussed enough, Juhi just takes off for a month or two and writes out what will be the first draft of the screenplay.

Yahaan and Madras Cafe are very political in content while Vicky Donor and Piku are these quirky slice-of-life comedies. Do you get pulled naturally towards these genres as a director?

Believe me I never thought that I can handle humour. When I first joined the industry I used to believe that I would only do political thrillers and films about revolutions. But somewhere I connected with the humour that Juhi brings in her writing. Sometimes you don’t realise what kind of humour dwells inside you. Vicky Donor brought that out in me. 

In the ad circuit are you known for a certain genre of commercials?

Yes. Human relationship ads. Performance-based ads. “Acting dorkaar holei cholo Shoojitda’r kaachhe jai!” 

Has that translated to movies also?

Definitely. Because of my theatre background. Even in Piku my roots in theatre have played a huge role. I have used certain techniques while shooting which are straight out of my theatre schooling.

That Shoebite, your film with Mr Bachchan, never released, did it play a part when you approached him again for Piku?

Yes yes yes yes.... It definitely played a part. In fact, whenever we meet, whenever our eyes meet, we know what is on our mind. It has been painful for both of us. And I am sure it must have crossed his mind that I am again working with Shoojit. (Quick chuckle) But then again he’s been around for 45 years. Haather naari tiplei bujhe jaay je shaamner lokta ki korte chaichhe (He can feel the pulse of what the person in front of him wants to do). Such is his integrity towards the project.

Were you ever apprehensive that someone of his stature may not be willing to play a ‘constipated’ character?

Of course we were. That’s why we got in touch with Mr Bachchan the moment the idea was floated. We told him that there is this character of a Bengali man suffering from constipation and we are writing it for him.  

What was his first reaction when he heard his character has constipation and is obsessed about his bowel movements? 

Oh, he laughed! And what I think he enjoyed most is that I was giving him a Bengali character to play. Of course, there were many questions. Because there are many things in the film which people would not expect him to do. Even his peeing scene in the trailer has had people asking how could Amitabh Bachchan do that?! But you know all that makes his character very real, very relatable.

Did you have to omit anything because he didn’t want to do certain things or say certain lines?

No, no, nothing. He wanted to add more. Now he is complaining. “Arey Shoojit tui ‘ghorar dim’ ta rakhish ni! Aami tokey bollam ‘ghorar dim’ bolte de amake! ‘Joto dosh Nondo Ghosh’ tao bolte dili naa.” Jaya-di (Bachchan) gave him a lot of phrases. And he was like “Eta bolbo, eta bolbo!” (Laughs out loud)

Does he have a lot of Bengali lines in the film?

He has a few. But he speaks like a probashi Bangali. Not a Bangali Bangali. But Piku speaks in proper Bangla. There’s not too much Bengali. I didn’t want to complicate things with constant use of two languages. But I must tell you that I have made a Bengali film only, in Hindi. Paati Bangla chhobi, shudhu shobai Hindi-te kotha bolchhe.

Did you make the characters Bengali because you wanted to shoot the film in Calcutta?

That’s how it was conceived by Juhi. Also, the film starts off in Delhi. They are probashi Bangalis. And I know CR Park quite a bit and the Bengalis from there. Of course, I am comfortable with the Bengali milieu and these characters were naturally lending themselves to the eccentricities of Bengalis.

Why did you name him Bhaskar Banerjee, Bachchan’s character in Anand?

Frankly speaking, it was pure coincidence. I did not realise it till somebody pointed it out. It didn’t strike Juhi also. For us, 
Mr Bachchan was Babumoshay in Anand. When we finally realised I thought I should ask Mr Bachchan. He was like I was young in that film, here I am old, it’s okay. So we went along with the name.

What about Piku? Not from the Satyajit Ray film Pikoo?

Even for that one I had completely forgotten about Pikoo’r Diary. After we named her Piku, I was like why is the name sounding so familiar? And then even after it occurred to me, I wanted to keep it. Because Piku sounds very sweet. Khub mishti naam. Filmtao khub mishti. So I let it be. But Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar and Jana Aranya have indeed influenced me for this particular film as far as the idea of a Bengali family goes. 

You have worked with Mr Bachchan enough hours now. Can you tell him that you didn’t like a particular take or that you would need to retake?

Yes. Absolutely. And I don’t even have to spell it out. He gives me that much freedom. He will look at me after every take. “Ki?” Even if he has given a great performance in a particular shot, he would be like “Ki?” Also, he knows me by now. I am quite transparent in that way. If I like a shot, I would simply move on. Sometimes I would not even look at him. And if he spots me lingering behind the monitor, he would know je mon-ta bhoreni. He listens to me and you can direct him. 

From the trailer it seems that Mr Bachchan is much louder than the other two actors. Is that deliberately done?

When you see the film in totality, that wouldn’t be a problem. Yes, his character is like that but it works fine in the entire narrative.

The Calcutta you show in your films –– in Vicky Donor and in the Piku trailers –– is more like an exotic Calcutta, the Calcutta from the glossy ad films, not the everyday Calcutta which you surely have been experiencing during your frequent trips to the city. Why is it that way?

It is deliberately done. I want Calcutta to look beautiful. But also organically so. And there are places which I find beautiful that may not be beautiful for other Calcuttans. A lot of people find Howrah bridge and Maidan beautiful. I find Bagbazar Ghat and Shyambazar more beautiful. I can only show what I have experienced. To me it has always been a city of nostalgia and I have tried to capture that. One thing is for sure... the moment you see it, you will fall in love with the city all over again.

It must have been tough shooting there with Mr Bachchan, Deepika, Irrfan...

Obviously when you decide you’ll shoot with Mr Bachchan in Calcutta and that too on the streets, you can’t expect the place to be empty. (Smiles) It wasn’t just crazy, it was madness! But we have had this experience many times before with him. Even Shoebite was shot largely on the streets. Bachchan fans are Bachchan fans. Behind the camera and on the right of the camera and on the left of the camera, there are thousands and thousands of people just standing there. It’s difficult but we made sure we got our shots. You get agitated at that point but then you realise that they have come for your actors only.... So many people came for Deepika. Even for Irrfan. He is a huge star in his own right. 

Has the success of Vicky Donor and Madras Cafe made you reach out to the stars? Couldn’t Piku have been made without stars?

Right from the script level, Piku was purely a performance film with a lot of banter going on for two hours. So, we needed top-class performers. 

Mr Bachchan and Irrfan were always on our mind. Deepika came after the script was done. We just narrated one scene to her and she was on. Of course, films like Vicky Donor and Madras Cafe must have assured all of them that they are in good hands. 

What is that one scene?

That you have to watch the film and find out. It’s the first scene of the film. (Goofy smile)

Deepika Padukone is one of the biggest stars of Bollywood today and you have worked with newcomers like Minissha Lamba and Yami Gautam before. How different was the DP experience?

After she said she is doing the film, she only wanted to know who we have cast in the other two roles. And she was very thrilled to know that Mr Bachchan and Irrfan were also in the film. Yes she has her own team and agency like any big star would but at the heart of it she is a simple girl from Bangalore. That first day she just came from some shoot and sat on that sofa and I was like, “This is my Piku!” I didn’t notice any starry aura throughout. It went quite smooth.

What about her performance? How did she approach the character?

I think very early she realised that her approach to this film had to be different from what she had done before. She would just listen to me. I would go ‘blah blah blah’ on the character, on the story, on the background. And she would keep listening. There came a point of time when I got a little anxious because she had never read out a single line. One day I sat her down and I asked Deepika, “Can you just read out one scene?” I read for Mr Bachchan and she read her lines. When the sound of her speaking as Piku hit my ears, I knew this was right. Meyeta ekdom Piku!

What about Irrfan? What made you cast him?

I didn’t even know him actually. After Vicky Donor he loved the film so much, he kept in touch. He was fascinated with the way Juhi and me work together and he was very keen to work with me as a director. So when this character came up in the script, we thought he was just the right man for the job.

And what was it like working with him?

Oh he’s terrific! His school is absolutely different. Tor shaathe kotha bolte bolte kokhon je character-e chole jaabe, bujhte parbi naa. It’s so seamless. For any given scene he would come up with lines before the scene actually started. And he’s a great listener. He is not much of a rehearsal guy. He would just stand there and keep soaking in everything. I don’t know what his method exactly is. Maybe he has devised his own method.

What made you pick Anupam Roy as your music director for such a big project with such big stars?

Anupam is a star himself! (Laughs out loud) He is bigger than all the Bengali films back in Calcutta. Seriously speaking, he is very good. For the last four-five years he has given some great music. He has ruled the charts. And no jhinchak jhinchak, just pure melodies. He is a complete natural. The best thing about Anupam is that you can hear his songs without the accompanying visuals. And especially for this film, which is very simple, the simplicity of his music works very well. Someone else might have overproduced the tracks.

Despite delivering a big hit every year and working with such big names now, why do you still keep such a low profile?

I don’t know. I don’t feel the need. I can’t sit and judge a dance show on TV. And I am not the only one. So many of us, directors of the new generation, are like that. Whether it’s Anurag (Kashyap) or Imtiaz (Ali) or Sujoy (Ghosh), we are here because we are passionate about cinema. We may be making mainstream films but we are here for the movies. For nothing else.

Amitabh-Deepika-Irrfan... is this your dream cast for Piku? Tell t2@abp.in