The surest place to find the ever-elusive filmmaker Shoojit Sircar is one of the manicured fields in Salt Lake Sector 2, where he has been maintaining a low profile life since 2010. When not busy making films, the self-confessed football lover plays soccer early in the morning with boys and friends in the neighbourhood. “My love for soccer has its roots in my formative years in Bengal. I was never anywhere close to the world of arts and culture,” tells Sircar, who has played national level soccer when he was in school and university in Delhi.
But destiny surely had some other plans in store for this poignant and reclusive filmmaker, whose last release, Sardar Udham, starring recently married Vicky Kaushal as the stoic patriot, created ripples cutting across all kinds of audiences due to its slow-burn and hard-hitting depiction of the infamous Jalianwala Bagh massacre (1919) through freedom fighter Shahid Udham Singh’s eyes.
An accidental visit to Mandi House for Naseeruddin Shah starrer play Andha Yug directed by Satyadev Dubey changed Sircar’s life forever. “I stayed back to watch the next show too and after that, the 15-minute walk back to my office was time enough for me to decide to leave the job,” he recalls.
The decision was almost as dramatic as his favourite filmmaker Satyajit Ray's resolution in the 1950s to switch to filmmaking from advertising after watching De Sica's Bicycle Thieves in London.
Within a month Sircar resigned from his hotel job and joined theatre group Act One, and his contemporaries included Manoj Bajpai, Piyush Mishra, Asish Vidyarthi, Gajraj Rao, Imtiaz Ali, Sadanand Kirkire and Sima Biswas among others. “Theatre changed my life forever. I think everyone should join theatre once in life, whether you belong to the world of art and entertainment or not. It hits you fundamentally and impacts your intellect and approach to life deeply,” he stresses.
A self-taught filmmaker, most of Sircar’s movies have a patch of North Bengal and its lush verdant feel to it. “I grew up in Hasimara in North Bengal and Barrackpore district before my father got transferred to Delhi when I was 13. I missed Bengal and its culture so much that I shifted back to Kolkata. Also, I didn’t want my children to miss out as I did. I am still in the process of turning into a true blue Bengali and trying to soak in everything that I missed out all these years,” tells Sircar, whose daughters Ananya (15) and Koena (19) are fans of Satyajit Ray like him.
Shoojit has so far produced two Bengali movies, Aparajita Tumi and Open Tee Bioscope, but hasn’t directed one yet. “I need to learn a bit more before I do so. But most of my movies are Bengali in spirit if not in language,” tells Sircar, for whom Ray’s Apu Trilogy is a manual guide in cinema.
“I feel the times of Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Tapan Sinha, Mrinal Sen, Sai Parnajpai and Bimal Roy were golden in the history of Indian filmmaking, that we still haven't been able to touch. In those times, there were healthy debates among filmmakers despite competitiveness, which is sadly lacking, now. There’s also a lack of deep knowledge or research. You have to persevere to create something that becomes a work of art. A film can break box office records but that can never be a benchmark for your art. Unless what you create deeply moves the conscience, it won’t become an art and art cannot be created in a mad rush,” he explains.
One of the most successful Bengali filmmakers in contemporary Bollywood, we speak to Sircar about the success of Udham Singh, friend and actor Irrfan, why he chose the digital platform to release two of his latest films, his passion for football and what pandemic taught him. Excerpts from the chat:
Did you expect such a positive wave of response for Sardar Udham despite the semi-docu treatment of the film?
Most of my films, whether Gulabo Sitabo, October, or Piku, are semi-documentary in nature because I started out as a documentary filmmaker. So, I at times feel that it might not resonate with many. But I am grateful that Udham has touched so many people, especially the final sequence. I always wanted the Jalianwala Bagh massacre depiction to be the takeaway. Everyone is talking about the slowness of the approach, but for me, it was important to get into the skin of Udham. The first one hour is quite scattered since there is not much information, written or otherwise about Udham and I had to shape him out with the screenplay. The mystery and elusiveness around Udham are what fascinate and impress me the most he was not very vocal in his time and I am happy I managed with the film’s treatment.
Did it hurt that it wasn’t selected by the Indian jury for entry to the Oscars?
I was definitely disappointed as a filmmaker but I absolutely respect the jury and their decision and I already have seen the selected film and Pebbles is really the most deserving. There will be regret but there has been a complete fair play.
Both your latest films, Gulabo Sitabo and Sardar Udham were released during the pandemic on OTT platforms. Any reason for not waiting it out?
I didn’t opt for OTT release deliberately. I shot both films in a very cinematic way with no compromise on the big screen experience. But it’s also the first time in our life that we are facing a pandemic situation and its effects. With such uncertainties looming large, we had to make certain decisions and I am not regretting that at all. When the situation returns to normalcy again, we will all release in theatres like before.
2021 also took away actor Irrfan, whom you originally thought of as Udham…
Yeah, it’s a huge loss and I am still unable to cope with it. As a friend, of course, but also as a great artiste, Irrfan has left a huge vacuum. Not only Udham, but all my future films were also conceived keeping him in mind. Whenever I am thinking of any new story, Irfann’s face pops up invariably and then it becomes difficult to imagine anybody else. His son Babil, wife Sutapa and I are still closely in touch with each other.
But also, in terms of Udham, when Vicky was selected there was no turning back and he did a marvellous job out of it.
Will we see you collaborating with Babil in future?
Yes, definitely we will. Babil and I are close and if Irrfan is looking down from somewhere, he would be satisfied that I am there for Babil. I am definitely going to be by his side as a mentor.
You have done thrillers, comedy, satire and period films. Which genre are you drawn to personally?
It’s very difficult to say. I had always been drawn to documentary and political thrillers as a genre. I never knew I can handle, for example, satire but with Gulabo Sitabo I could. I didn’t know I could handle humour but I did that with Piku and Vicky Donor. I managed to steer a meditative film like October which has a lot of silences. With each film, I am also learning and discovering myself as a filmmaker.
Which movie of yours is your personal favourite and which movies have deeply influenced you?
Gulabo Sitabo, for its cinematic value and honest portrayal. Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy and Charulata are my all-time favourites.
Any filmmaker among the current crop whose work you like?
I like Rima das and Marathi filmmaker Chaitanya’s films a lot. Some regional filmmakers are doing wonderful jobs.
What are your passions and hobbies?
I am still a footballer before anything else. I regularly play soccer and we have All Stars Club in Mumbai where Abhishek Bachchan, Ranvir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Dhoni, Leander Paes and I play charity matches. I also love cooking delicacies from North Bengal, especially saag. I have turned vegetarian for almost nine years, now and I simply love eating all kinds of saag and fresh veggies.
I read a lot of spiritual and science books like Upanishads, Vedas, Mahabharata and Ramayana besides old writings of scientists like Jagadish Bose and Satyen Bose. I am also studying the philosophical and scientific bent of Tagore’s mind. It’s a beautiful discovery for me as to how deeply spiritualism, Brahmo Samaj and contemporary renaissance art impacted Tagore.
What’s keeping you busy now?
I am going to produce a few more movies and currently researching 2-3 ideas for my own films. But nothing has been fixed to speak concretely about them.
What has the pandemic taught you?
It has taught me to be self-sufficient. I had always been a minimalist and I have very few basic needs and wants. I like spending time with myself and meditating and pondering over useful things.
Twitter: @sharmidas