There’s a contemplative air about Shoojit Sircar’s cinema.
His storytelling isn’t in a rush to get somewhere and enjoys the process of seeing his characters beyond the obvious whilst offering a window to their soul as well as him.
Both the wit and the warmth in his films stems from a reality presented sans any artifice or affectations where conversations, expressed in words and silence, touch a chord and visuals, poetic or personal, linger on. Not to forget, thoughtfully cast actors, known or new, central or secondary, become people we might know. (Or want to.)
Photograph: Kind courtesy Shoojit Sircar/Instagram
This is the magic of Sircar’s filmmaking — National Award winners, many of them — that makes every new work of his an eagerly-awaited affair.
His latest I Want to Talk is a slice-of-life, father-daughter story co-starring Abhishek Bachchan and Pondicherry native and newcomer Ahilya Bamroo.
Sukanya Verma ranks his best directed works so far.
7. Yahaan
Growing up in the shadow of a father serving in the Indian Air Force, Sircar’s understanding of defence and war came in handy in his directorial debut when he shifted gears from advertising to feature films.
One of the most appreciated attributes of his rookie effort — a love story between an army man and a local lass against the backdrop of the Kashmir conflict — is its gritty realism.
6. Madras Cafe
It would be difficult for a Madras Cafe or any political drama resisting propaganda to get made today.
Back in 2013 though, Sircar’s sharp, sombre espionage drama tackling the Sri Lankan civil war and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991 delivered quite a sucker punch in the John Abraham led (and produced) thriller.
5. Gulabo Sitabo
One of the first big movies to drop on streaming following the pandemic-triggered indefinite lockdown, Gulabo Sitabo‘s Lucknow is a whimsical world inhabited by a crabby landlord and his feisty tenant’s tussle. Their quarrelling equation as well as the chaos it prompts among everyone in its direct grasp or otherwise is telling of its satirical musings and sprawling feminism.
4. Vicky Donor
Apart from normalising a taboo topic, by Bollywood standards, like sperm donation, Sircar’s humorous glimpse into the saas-bahu banter over hilarious whisky sessions and Punju weds Bong stereotypes in his directorial debut offered the audience an entire new perspective in the rom-com space.
Recipient of three National Awards, Vicky Donor‘s influences are felt strongly and seminally since it first came out and found empowering new ways to showcase women of all ages at their most authentic and awesome.
3. Sardar Udham
Always breaking new ground in genres marked by predictable patterns, Sircar’s soul crushing treatment of the biopic and period-era patriotism reveals the human amidst a surfeit of history.
One of the best films of 2021 is also one of the best films he’s made so far but denied a big screen experience owing to the COVID-19 onslaught.
Perhaps the powers behind the ongoing re-release trend can remedy that and allow the audience to experience, as I once gushed, ‘his brooding, muted take on long harboured revenge, an individual’s revolution through physical and psychological torture as it treads a horrific chapter of India’s history and fight for independence from the British Raj without resorting to jingoism or chest thumping antics.’
2. October
A carefree hotel management trainee’s world is turned upside down when a fellow intern falls off the terrace and slips into coma right after inquiring about his whereabouts.
His tender times around her, all confused, concerned and curious, alongside Sircar’s dedication to explain nothing makes October a sublime ode to the mysterious ways of the human condition.
Profound in its thought and every day in its observation, Sircar’s gift to blend ordinary and overwhelming is his greatest superpower.
1. Piku
Sircar’s body of work is as good as it gets. His cinema attests to his artistry, his humanity, his sensitivity, his sense of humour, his aesthetics, his inspirations, his quirks, his vision — all the lovely adjectives you can possibly think of.
Right above these pile of powerhouse sits Piku, a gem, a heart, a hug of a film featuring a pitch-perfect chemistry between Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan and Deepika Padukone, that’s as much about potty as it about parenting and says more about human emotions, connections, journeys and good ol’ life over the course of 122 minutes than one could ever summarise in a lifetime.
