Shoojit On Inclination For ‘Daughter-Father’ Stories: ‘Abhishek And I Have Daughters…’ | Exclusive – News18

Last Updated:November 22, 2024, 03:51 IST

Shoojit Sircar points out the one thing that sets Piku and I Want To Talk apart, despite being films about father-daughter bond.

Death and grief are pertinent motifs in Shoojit Sircar’s universe, be it Piku, October or his latest release, I Want To Talk. And in a way, this Abhishek Bachchan starrer completes the trifecta of loss and pain that Shoojit had inadvertently built. I Want To Talk revolves around a man who battled laryngeal cancer, underwent 20 odd surgeries and lived even when doctors gave up on him. His bittersweet relationship with his daughter also healed when she understood the gravity of his illness.

In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, Shoojit says that exploring these themes have healed him too. “It’s cathartic because you know that death is the ultimate truth and you cannot shy away from it. You may not want to think about it or be in a denial mode and that’s fine, but if you can look at it in a humorous way, then that’s beautiful,” he tells us.

Talking about how these creative journeys have led him to ‘embrace death’, he points out, “If I don’t, I’ll live with a lot of fear and it is this fear that we’ll have to give up at some point. I made I Want To Talk because I feel that if you can embrace death, you can challenge it all time. Arjun (Abhishek’s character) was going through so many challenges and his life was like a rollercoaster ride but he never gave up.”

He goes on to reveal that even Shoebite that marked his first collaboration with Amitabh Bachchan touched upon it. “I think I’ve this fascination towards death and that reflects in my previous films too like Piku, October and Sardar Udham. Even Shoebite that didn’t release dealt with it. Death fascinates me because it’s a reality of life,” the director states.

And interestingly, both Piku and I Want To Talk circumnavigates around a father-daughter relationship. Reacting to it, he says, “One may feel a connection between Bhaskor (in Piku) and Arjun because these are characters played by a real life father-son duo but I think they also merge somewhere because of their clumsiness, irritability, confusion and the need to give gyaan all the time (chuckles).”

However, Shoojit points out the key difference between these films and remarks, “In Piku, it was the father raising the daughter and in this one, I would like to believe that the daughter is raising the father. Every time his daughter came in, she was dictating his life. She helped him become a person. She gave him hints through her eyes as she tried bridging the gap in their relationship. He got some and he didn’t get the others. He made a few mistakes in his relationship with her without even realising it.”

Quiz him about his affinity towards these father-daughter stories and Shoojit corrects us and says, “No, these are daughter-father stories. I also have two daughters and they run me today. They’re the major decision-makers now. Abhishek has a daughter, my writer (Ritesh Shah) has a daughter and my producer Ronnie (Lahiri) also has a daughter, and we’re all proud fathers of daughters (smiles).”