Shoojit Sircar on the AI-altered ending of Raanjhanaa and collaborating with Shah Rukh Khan: ‘We really need people who can protect a filmmaker’s vision’

Excerpts edited for clarity and brevity  

What’s the secret to crafting a successful short film, given your grasp of both feature-length and short-form storytelling?

My experience, especially with short formats, has taught me that they can work if the idea is really high-concept. Short films can really excel when the concept addresses social values, psychological dimensions, or even has a touch of mysticism. And also, when the film isn’t too judgmental. It doesn’t matter what the format is, it could be fiction, documentary, docu-series, or docu-feature, as long as in that short runtime, you’re able to communicate a powerful idea. Of course, all ideas are good, but the ones that really create impact, those are the ones that work best in short format. It should be cinema, but condensed, and ideally a little more heightened in concept.

Screenwriting traditionally draws a distinction between transitional scenes that connect the major dramatic beats. But in your films, that line seems to blur as most scenes feel transitional, yet they’re just as vital, dramatic, and propulsive. How do you and your writers strike that balance?

My learning and upbringing have been in documentaries. And in that format, what you just said is very true, it flows from subject to subject, narratively. Some scenes might have drama, but often, it’s the silences that speak the most. Take October, for example. There’s a moment when the two mothers, Shiuli’s mother and Dan’s mother, are face to face. Dan’s mother is just observing her son. Nothing is overtly happening, but there’s immense internal drama. She senses she’s lost him, not in the literal sense, but emotionally, because he has, in a way, become part of Shiuli’s family. These kinds of touches come from real life experiences, and my documentary background, where you keep narrating while visuals unfold. I love that. I love that montage feeling. Sardar Udham is essentially a full-length montage. Even in I Want to Talk, nothing major “happens” in the traditional sense, but there are solid emotional beats, like the one between the father and daughter, carry so much potency. That’s how I observe life, too.

You’ve always avoided spoon-feeding the audience. Your films are free of heavy-handed exposition or scenes that exist solely to convey information or meaning.

I always assume that the person watching or listening to me is intelligent. I don’t think of the audience as someone who won’t understand. If I can understand something, then why can’t someone else? I take that as a given. So there’s no need for spoon-feeding. I trust the viewer to find the emotional truth themselves.

So in that sense, how do you adapt to ad filmmaking? Where you often have to pander, and the visual grammar runs completely counter to your usual approach?

(laughs) Yeah, tough question. Difficult question. You’re questioning my ethics straight away! Sometimes, yes, you have to compromise a bit, ethically and creatively, to earn money and also to keep practicing your craft. Advertising allows me to do that, to keep honing my skills and run my kitchen. Then, in cinema, I pour my soul into the work.

Also Read | Abhishek Bachchan-starrer I Want To Talk is Shoojit Sircar’s heaviest and most daring work yet

There’s an ongoing debate in the film industry right now about AI and its place in filmmaking, especially after what recently happened with the re-release of Raanjhanaa and its AI-altered ending. What’s your take on that?

I’ve heard about what happened there, but I haven’t seen the film myself. Look, AI is powerful, it’s helpful, no doubt. But again, it all comes down to individual ethics. AI can do anything now, from visualizing to writing to creating entire images. So ethically, how you choose to use it, that’s the key. Regarding Raanjhanaa, I don’t know what to say specifically, but I think the director should be able to protect their art and vision. We really need people who can protect a filmmaker’s vision. That’s where producers should step in. Across industries, not just films, we’re all struggling to protect our work, our art, our forms. A filmmaker or actor spends a lifetime protecting their art.

I’m really fascinated by the interval points in your films. I read somewhere that you decide on the interval during the edit. How do you approach that?

Yeah, because I feel the interval is often a forced thing. While I’m telling a story, it breaks the flow. Sometimes the cut happens organically, but ideally, I want people to watch the film in one go, without stopping. That’s why I usually leave that decision to my editor. Many times, it’s the editor who decides where we should break the film, simply because we have to.

I’m not sure if you remember, but a couple of years ago you posted something on Instagram, just the words “content, content, content” repeated. What was on your mind when you shared that?

(laughs) I was just hearing that word everywhere! At studios, in meetings, on ad sets, everyone was just talking about “content”. Creative producers, EPs, platforms, everyone was using it constantly. I guess I was reacting to that.

Lastly, you recently collaborated with Shah Rukh Khan for an ad. You also mentioned at a book event that you want to work with him someday. Can we expect something?

I would love to, absolutely. He’s really a fantastic person. I really appreciate his warmth, the way he carries himself, and the way he treats people. Every time we’ve interacted, I’ve seen just how intelligent and aware he is; he understands what’s happening around him and knows how to talk about life in a meaningful way. Even in small conversations, you get glimpses of that. I really like that kind of intelligence. So yes, it would truly be an honour to work with him one day.

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