Shoojit Sircar answers whether Deepika Padukone's Piku, Irrfan's Rana ever married; where they would be 10 years after release: ‘Her son would be constipated'
It's been 10 years since Rana drove Piku and her cranky septuagenarian father to Kolkata from Delhi. On the occasion of its anniversary, Shoojit Sircar's seminal slice-of-life film Piku is re-releasing in cinemas this week. In an exclusive interview with SCREEN, Sircar looks back at the film, and working with the incredible cast — the late Irrfan Khan, Deepika Padukone, and Amitabh Bachchan.
When was the last time you watched Piku?
It's on my platform, but half-loaded. I watched half of it just three-four weeks back. I'm going to watch it anyway in theatres now.
Are you able to view it objectively now?
With Piku, I've detached quite a bit. There are small craft issues. There are some places where I now feel I could've slowed down a bit. Some conversations got chopped on the editing table because you always have a duration issue. We debated a lot if we should go with the cut with additional 15 minutes of footage, where the conversations were a little bit more evolved. Given the love the film got, I now feel like going back to that cut or releasing the cut scenes.
The film has matured. Especially during Covid, when there was a lot of loneliness, Piku became a comfort film. The reactions to it have been changing. It's gone from a comedy to a slice-of-life. People who saw it then are also 10 years older, so their perspectives have also shifted. So it's become more organic and real now, than just fiction. It's like everybody's story.
It makes sense that you say it matured during the pandemic. Because we were dealing with a lot of themes you address in the film, like going back to roots or caregiving. Caregiving has been a crucial leitmotif in your filmography, from Piku, October (2018) to I Want To Talk (2024). Why do you think that's the case?
I've never thought about it. But geriatrics has become a phenomenon in medical science now. People now know there are geriatricians. Somewhere, caregiving has become a necessity. With kids moving out of homes, and us leading ambitious lives, we have to keep a balance between roots and ambition. That's also what Piku was trying. She also wanted to get out of it. She was also frustrated and distressed. But she chose this particular path of being with her father as much as she can. That's not what everyone does, but that's a part of everybody's life.
Juhi Chaturvedi (screenwriter) told me that you both also chose the path of caregiving. Do you think that reflects in Piku?
When we were writing, both of us were dealing with our own issues. And that definitely reflected in Piku. Sometimes, caregiving also comes from guilt that we haven't done enough.
Is the guilt still there or are you at peace now?
No, I did try my best, but the guilt is always there. But you have to compromise for where you are in life now. You can't go back to fix it, but you can make sure it doesn't happen again.
Is Piku a way to tell us to do what you couldn't?
I think that's what movies should do. I discover something new in Satyajit Ray's films now than what I did when I watched them when I was 24 or 25. Or when I watch Ritvik Ghatak's Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960) now, the family dynamics were so different in that film. Movies affect you in different ways at different times.
You had already made Shoebite, a film with Amitabh Bachchan, which never saw light of the day. How relieved were you when Piku released in theatres?
When I got a moment, I said to God, 'Thank you for making it happen.' I finally managed a release with him. Because Shoebite was my first film. He also depended on me, trusted me. And then it's a complete U-turn. I'm thankful I managed to do three films with him (Piku, Pink, and Gulabo Sitabo) and all have released.
You recently said his character was modelled on Utpal Dutt. But he's previously said he borrowed his mannerism from his father-in-law, Jaya Bachchan's father. Did you know that?
When we were writing, Utpal Dutt was in our heads. But we didn't want him that loud. We wanted him to be cranky because of his age and he's anal about small things. For instance, the scene in which he's unnecessarily fighting with the house help. But Mr. Bachchan absolutely crafted it on his own. There was no brief to him.
Was Deepika always the first choice for Piku?
I'd always tell Juhi and Ronnie (Lahiri, producer) to write with Deepika in mind. But I wasn't sure if she'd work with me, and that too in a film about constipation. There were many other actors we were contemplating, but Deepika was stuck in my mind. So I said let me take a chance on that. I gave her a five-minute narration, I performed the opening scene. She said, 'I'm on! What do you want me to do?' I said read the whole script. She said, 'No need, I'm on!'
How did you visualize Deepika as Piku because she hadn't done films like that before?
I saw sparks of her as a real, normal girl-next-door. Of course, she was this diva also, but there were glimpses of Bengaluru. Even in her first film (Om Shanti Om), there was an organic innocence in her eyes, the way she looked, her face structure. She looked like a Bong! And then we gave her the bindi.
Juhi told me Deepika felt at home playing Piku. Did you also see that?
She seemed very relaxed on set. She didn't have the pressure of wearing clothes and make-up. There was no vanity as such. She'd come to me and say, 'Dada, do I need to say these lines? I'm just reacting.' We'd usually add lines, but she wanted us to cut her lines. Later, when she did some interviews, she said she was going through mental health issues, and this film came as a beautful medicine. Because she could be herself. So I'd imagine somewhere deep inside, there's a bit of Piku in her.
How did you build Piku and Rana's romance, if I can call it that? Did you categorically told them that they were or were not romantically involved, or were they in the dark as much as we were?
I'd told Deepika that because Piku was already in a relationship with Jisshu Sengupta. But Irrfan would take a romantic bend, and I'd stop him (laughs). When we were writing, Juhi and me were quite clear that there are some relationships which are just there always, but don't have a shape or definition. I was very clear about how the film would end (Piku and Rana playing badminton). When I think now, where they would be now, I'm sure they wouldn't marry. Rana would be a call away for Piku. She may date others, but I doubt Rana would date anyone else. She'd have adopted a son, and hired Rana as his civil engineering coach. And the son would be constipated (laughs).
Where do you think Bhasker Banerjee would be now?
He just needs attention, like all elderly people do. They fear ki ye mujhe chhod ke chali jaegi. For my friends who have elderly people at home, YouTube is such a boon! They keep watching news and giving gaalis to politicians. I'm sure if Bhasker would be very active on Twitter, replying to each troll.
Last month, on the death anniversary of Irrfan, you shared that you miss having conversations with him, on life and death. What have you learnt about life and death from Irrfan?
His life itself is a lesson, what he went through. He would be sitting here talking to me. And in two-three years, he's no more. That itself is a big lesson for me. We used to talk about Sufism, Rabindranath Tagore, Rumi, Shri Ramakrishna, Socrates, and Charles Darwin. We left nothing. He'd mix science and spiritualism. He's say, 'Dada, we should do adda with scientists also.' He was speculating whether he'd go for regular treatment or alternate treatment. I never went to London during his treatment. But we spent hours and hours on Zoom or phone calls. There were some days when I didn't have anything to talk about, but he wanted to talk. So we talked.
Was he a different Irrfan then?
From the Irrfan I knew from Piku, he was obviously much more broken.
Also Read — Shoojit Sircar opens up about working with Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan in Piku: 'One rehearses many times, other matures with every take'
How often do you remember him now?
His name crops up in everyday conversations. I tell Juhi and Ritesh (Shah, screenwriter), 'Irrfan nahi hai yar' whenever we're writing something. I told Vicky Kaushal and Abhishek Bachchan how they're doing Irrfan's roles (in Sardar Udham and I Want To Talk respectively). And they both performed so beautifully. So I think Irrfan is still inspiring all of us.
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