I CAN’T TAKE ANY CREDIT: SHOOJIT
Says film-maker Shoojit Sircar on being asked about coming up with pathbreaking parts for his actors When Shoojit Sircar was directing Ayushmann Khurrana in Vicky Donor (2012), he wouldn’t have realised that his lead actor’s part would turn out to be such a loved character. Similarly, Deepika Padukone’s character in Piku (2015) also shines bright in her filmography. And now, Varun Dhawan readily admits that his outing in the film-maker’s next, October is a special one. Clearly, Sircar seems to have a knack for coming up with pathbreaking roles for his actors. “I can’t take any credit (laughs). I don’t think I have given them path-breaking roles. It was our good fortune and a great coincidence that we all met and worked with each other. It’s great that they agreed [to work with me] and surrendered to my kind of films while breaking away from the usual, and doing something which is absolutely unusual,” says Sircar, adding that he’s “happy that we dealt with each other superbly and also respected each other’s work”. But doesn’t he ever feel any market pressure when he changes an actor’s image and moulds a completely different character out of them? “I don’t think even they think about market or box office when they agree to work in my films. They know that I will make it the way I think. For me, there is no market pressure. For instance, I’m not responsible for Varun’s box-office record just because I am working with him,” says the film-maker, adding he is “more bothered about whether I like the film, if I have been able to make my film the way I visualised it, or tell the story that I want to”. Talking of Ayushmann, Deepika and Varun, does he see any common factor between the actors? “See, it’s very difficult for me to gel with everyone because I only work with very close friends and in a very close network of people. Whoever comes in and joins our team definitely needs to have a heart-to-heart conversation [with us]. I think the common factor is integrity and surrendering to our kind of thinking for the kind of films that we make. After that, we flow along with each other,” he says.