Shoojit opens up about his social media sabbatical
The year 2020 was harsh on everyone due to the pandemic, and more so for Bollywood as there was a lot of hate and anger directed towards the industry after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. The social media toxicity that ensued led to many celebrities take a break from Twitter. Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar was one of them; however, he had his own reasons.
“If you want to be sane and concentrate on work, you need to get out of that space. There was too much happening and the pandemic only made it worse. Irrfan left us (in April). I was already disturbed. Then Gulabo Sitabo’s release on OTT drew flak... I thought let me get out of it first,” reveals the filmmaker, who announced his social media sabbatical on June 22.
Though Sircar returned to social media on January 3, if things get bad, he won’t mind taking another break. “You can try to avoid these to an extent, but it does affect you. The foul language people used wasn’t apt for a public platform. I didn’t want to be in that muddy well, and wanted some peaceful time,” he adds. The
Piku (2015) director stresses that everyone needs to behave responsibly online.
Sircar confesses he didn’t miss out on anything. “In fact, I felt relieved, relaxed... I was getting the necessary updates on internet, TV and newspapers,” he states. One good thing that this break did for Sircar was, it helped him concentrate on editing his next film, a biopic on freedom fighter and revolutionary Sardar Udham Singh. While the release date isn’t out yet, talks are on if it will be an OTT or theatrical release. “We want to release it in theatres... [But] we can’t deny that OTT has seen a change in consumption pattern,” he concludes.
She has been known as Chunky Panday’s wife and Ananya Panday’s mum, but after her reality TV series debut, Bhavana Pandey has got her own fan following.
“My Instagram DMS used to be full of messages like, ‘Ma’am, I’m a big fan of Ananya or Chunky but now those messages are, ‘Ma’am, we loved you’,” shares Bhavana. However, she admits that getting on board the series Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives was a tough call to take, and involved lengthy discussions with her family. “I’ve been a VJ and model in my early 20s but that age was different. Now, I’m Chunky’s wife and Ananya and Rysa’s mother. Suddenly putting myself out there for the world to judge you was a little scary,” she confesses.
Other than Bhavana, the show focuses on the lives of her friends, Neelam Kothari, Maheep Kapoor and Seema Khan, wives of Bollywood actors Samir Soni, Sanjay Kapoor and Sohail Khan respectively. “Having them around made the apprehensions slowly go away,” she adds. Asked if it means more on-screen ventures, she says, “I know I’ll not be able to act to save my life. Two actors are enough in the family.”
While the show received a mixed response, Bhavana has seen trolling at close quarters about her daughter, Ananya. “Initially, it used to affect me a lot. I agree they’re actors and should be open to criticism, but it should be constructive and meaningful,” she adds.