Shoojit Sircar opens up about working with Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan in Piku: ‘One rehearses many times, other matures with every take’

Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar talks about working with legendary actors Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan Khan in Piku.

New Delhi | November 3, 2024 05:19 PM IST

3 min read

Shoojit Sircar on Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan Khan

Shoojit Sircar talks about working with actors Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan Khan in Piku.

Shoojit Sircar is known for his candid interviews and a recent one was no different. In an episode of Unfiltered with Samdish, Shoojit Sircar recalled the time he worked with a band of legendary actors a few years ago in his movie Piku (2015), starring Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan and late actor Irrfan Khan in the lead roles. The filmmaker mentioned that both Amitabh and Irrfan had their own style and approach towards acting.

Shoojit also highlighted that Irrfan and Amitabh come from absolutely different schools of acting. “Irrfan is like whiskey, maturing with every take. Bachchan saab does many rehearsals, he wants full prep; he matures through rehearsals. Unko camera ke film roll waali aadat hai, one take waale. When everyone is absolutely ready, he will perform. More or less, his one take is perfect,” he shared.

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The director further added, “Irrfan ke liye it’s like – Abhi toh chai shuru hui hai, pehla take is like pehla sip for him (The tea has just started; the first take is like the first sip for him). Irrfan once asked me, Kaise hain vo (Amitabh) set par (How’s he on set)? I saw him trembling for the first time. I told him that he was chill completely. He had never worked with Mr Bachchan before.” In fact, he suggested that all of Amitabh’s shots could be taken before he came on the set. “Vo hilenge nahi set se, vo sab shots mai rahenge (He won’t move from the set, he will be there for all the shots). Anyone can tremble in front of Mr Bachchan. I didn’t even have a table read together. They were going to meet for the first time during the shoot. Even Mr Bachchan was thrilled to work with Irrfan.”

He also talked about how it was a huge thing for Irrfan and Deepika to work together back then. “Irrfan was never a mainstream actor and Deepika is like this star, a leading lady. Deepika ko in fact lagraha tha Irrfan ke saath kaise karpaaungi (Deepika was worried about how she would be able to work with Irrfan), he is such a good actor.”

Talking about the film, Piku narrated the story of a quirky comedy about the relationship between a daughter and her ageing father, whose eccentricities drive everyone crazy. The comedy-drama was produced by NP Singh, Ronnie Lahiri and Sneha Rajani. It also starred Moushumi Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta and Raghubir Yadav in vital roles.

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