Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur) - Hindustan Times (Jaipur) - City
CELEBRATING FIVE YEARS OF VICKY DONOR
At the time of auditions, actor Yami Gautam thought that the film’s theme was a joke Director Shoojit Sircar says he never imagined that the film would be liked by families as well
When actor Yami Gautam (left) went to give auditions for the film Vicky Donor (2012), she had a hard time believing the story. “I asked the casting director, what the film was about and she just smiled, and said it was based on sperm donation. I thought it’s some kind of a joke. I rechecked and asked her to tell me seriously what was it all about. The only thing I heard was that Shoojit Sircar is directing it, and I knew he is a very sensible director,” recalls Yami. Although Yami is proud of the character that she portrayed in the film, she says that the film’s theme made people nervous initially. “When my dad asked me what the film is about, I gave the script to him, and said you read it [yourself]. I didn’t know how to put it across, but they [my family] loved the script and the final film. The best part was that Shoojit knew what he was dealing with and showed through the film that we had progressive minds around us,” adds the actor. For Yami, the Capital holds special memories where she shot the film. “Whenever I go to Delhi for any event, I am reminded of shooting for Vicky Donor. I used to go for shopping on my own. I remember turning into a foodie, and I had always remembered Annu Kapoor Ji being very thin from Mr. India (1987) days, but the paunch he has in this film is real and he too, is a big foodie.”
Often sex and everything it entails, is treated as a parody, or taboo in cinema. Yet, on few occasions it’s treated with sensitivity. And this is why, filmmaker Shoojit Sircar’s National Award winning film, Vicky Donor is still remembered today, five years after its release. The director recalls how the film which dealt with the issue of sperm donation, surpassed his expectations. “I knew the film would strike a chord with the youth, but I never thought that it would be liked by families also. I thought young boys and girls will go and have a good laugh, but it was a deep film, which dealt with serious issues,” says Sircar. For him, making the film, was an experience of a lifetime. He recalls, “We didn’t have the money to shoot the marriage scene in the film. There was somebody getting married, so we asked them to leave the venue for us, after the wedding was done. That’s how we barged in, and shot that sequence. When you are making a small budget film, this is what happens in entirety.” Remembering his first meeting with actor Ayushmann Khurrana, Sircar shares, “He was shy in the beginning. When he came to my office and I told him about the story, I said, ‘I am doing a film on a sperm donation, will you play the role of a sperm donor.’ He was taken aback because you’re getting launched in a film and getting to play a character, which most A-listers won’t do. He was hesitant, but I told him that we won’t cross the line.”
When my dad asked me what the film was about, I gave the script to him to read. I didn’t know how to put it across YAMI GAUTAM, ACTOR Television definitely works differently from films. You don’t know the whole character FAMKE JANSSEN, ACTOR