Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar says that he is tied up with his Varun Dhawan-starrer October and has dismissed reports about him planning to collaborate with Shah Rukh Khan.
According to reports, Shah Rukh and Sircar were keen to collaborate on a film based on the Indian Army.
Responding to the reports, Sircar told IANS over phone from Melbourne: “No. This is wrong news. I am not aware of it at all. I have no clue. I’m just getting into a film with Varun. That’s already been announced.”
The director is in Australia for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, where his 2016 production Pink won the Best Film award on Friday. The movie, with a strong social message, even bagged the National Award this year. But getting recognition in Australia is different for the director.
“It’s a proud moment for the team, especially because we have got an acknowledgement from the Australian jury. The film has resonated with them as well. That gives a high. It shows that we are on the right path,” he said.
Sircar, who has worked with actors like Amitabh Bachchan, John Abraham and Ayushmann Khurrana, also has a chat session on actors and acting process at the festival today.
Talking about his criteria for choosing actors for his films, Sircar said: “I don’t have actors in mind, but definitely I have the characters in mind while writing the script because we are developing the character, then we start working on it…the nuances of the character and then that decides who the actor is going to be. Sometimes, it is also because of the economic pressure.”
“The kind of films that I make…I try to keep the budgets as low as possible,” he added.
Speaking about striking a chord with audience, he said:
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“I am just lucky that they (his films) have all worked. I never thought that my films… like on constipation would work. I thought they were very average stories, but very important. I thought somehow I would just manage. I thank the audience for giving so much of love to my films,” said the director, who has helmed successful films like Piku and Vicky Donor.
He is set to touch the audience’s hearts with his next, which will be a slice of life love story.
Sircar, unlike most filmmakers, has never locked horns with the Central Board of Film Certification, whose chief Pahlaj Nihalani has now been replaced by writer, lyricist and ad man Prasoon Joshi.
Asked about the move, Sircar said: “I think Prasoon Joshi is absolutely eligible. He has been a part of the mainstream film industry. He knows exactly…he himself is a creative person. So, I think he will understand much deeper what we filmmakers want and what people should watch. It’s a great move that Prasoon Joshi has come on board.”
Feature Image: The Hollywood Reporter