Piku Updates - Page 62

Amitabh Bachchan is Indian cinema's biggest legend. The decades haven't dimmed his sheen as an actor or dented his super-stardom. As the release date of Piku nears, the excitement of seeing him dominate the screen with his magical presence reaches a crescendo. Excerpts of an interview with Big B.

Is the father in Piku anything like you in real life, Sir?
I have never looked upon the roles I play with that kind of intent, and neither have I searched in them any element that would resemble me in my own avatar. That would, in my opinion, be unfair to the creativity of the writer or the director. They design characters and incidents according to the story they wish to convey to an audience. I would imagine they look for an appropriate artiste, who they reckon shall have the right acumen to deliver the 'goods' so to say. Not many artistes, I guess, would like to play themselves on screen. The mystique of their presence would need to be preserved. Some element of their very public figured life needs to be left untouched. Bhaskor, Piku's father, is Bhaskor the father to Piku the character in the film. My challenge as an actor should be to be able to portray Bhaskor as written by the writer Juhiji, and conceptualised by Shoojit, the director. If I was to find myself in it, or even attempt to do so, I think it would be professionally incorrect!

How wonderful or annoying was it to have a daughter like Deepika?
Having 'Deepika' as a daughter would be wonderful. Having Piku as a daughter would be in line with the story of the film. Annoying or difficult would have to be assessed when you see the film. But for the moment, let us just say it is a very evolved relationship. Father-daughter relationships in general are somewhat conservative. Or perhaps tend to be conservative. There is greater 'talk man to man' kind of attitude with a son, not often with a daughter. In this film, that notion has been challenged rather bravely I must say. There is debate and argument and disagreement and opinion, but deep down, there is understanding and empathy and breaking convention and a freedom, and respect for individual thought and comment, which is all rather endearing.

You truly appreciated Deepika's work in Ram Leela, a film that you saw back-to-back, 3-to-4 times over. Of course, she then came to the Piku set as your daughter. Is there something more you discovered about Deepika as an actor in your personal interaction with her on set?
No, I did not see Ram Leela 3-4 times back-to-back, but yes, I was hugely appreciative of the film and of Sanjay (Leela Bhansali) and the two artistes in them. Your question suggests that seeing Deepika as this obsessive lover in one, and then to have her over as a daughter in another, would be some kind of discovery. Right? Yes, of course it's a discovery. Each moment of an artiste's life, especially in the field of acting on stage and film, is a discovery. It stems from the thought that they would represent themselves as a character they play, to the character they are in reality. I wonder. Characters they play on screen are evident and identifiable. Who or what they actually are in reality is something that many wish and desire to know and find out. For me, such an 'invasion' would be fought against. I cannot say about the others, certainly not Deepika. Though, I must admit that some of her personal disclosures have been most frank, honest and extremely brave. For me in Piku, Deepika as a daughter is what has been designed for her. She is not the lover ofRam Leela. Being privy to both, I will admire her as an artiste that makes those changes, for, that is what she is hired for, but to equate her with what I may have last creatively seen her as, is not something that I would do. I reckon no one in the profession would do either. Deepika has, over the years that I have seen her as an artiste, taken some remarkable leaps in the evolution of her craft. This is evident to all. My personal interactions with her are as an elder, and as one that wishes for her the best in her life. Though at times, I do envy the fact that the many young now, get to play the leads with her, and due to passage of time, I shall never.

Irrfan and you had been waiting for an opportunity to work with one another. Shoojit Sircar, your director, feels you are from different schools of acting. Let us have your thoughts of on Irrfan " both as a person and as an actor.
Irrfan is an exceptional artiste and I have admired his work through the years and through many different films he has been involved with. Working with him has been a wonderful experience and a great learning. I cannot fathom what Shoojit means by 'different schools of acting', all I can say is that I have never been to any acting school and would, therefore, be unable to give classification to my performances. Irrfan has. He is an alumnus of the NSD, I believe, and how fortunate I should say. It is a marvelous institution and has given us some of the most startling talents. Irrfan has that very unique ability to express a lot without doing anything. You may not visually see what he does, but you do understand what he is expressing. I do not know if I have been able to explain this adequately, but I do hope you know what I am trying to say. As a person, I have not had enough opportunity to spend time with him, to respond to your query, but during the making he was a wonderful colleague. When our work was over, we actually felt sorry that we were leaving. And that has been the sentiment with the entire crew of Piku "- "Arre, film khatam ho gayi.. Kuch aur din nahin ho sakte.."!!!

Did filming Piku give Deepika, Irrfan and you anytime to discover each other as people. I'm talking of your off-the-set interactions. Were there any fun moments? Any impromptu dinners?
You know with all due respect, this is such an oft-repeated question at film integration interviews, that I have lost interest in them. The greatest fun moments are when we are on set. Those can be seen in our 'making' videos. I would imagine after spending a good part of 8-10 hours in each other's company throughout the day, we would want to have some 'me time' " to use an 'oft-repeated' younger generation linguae francae!! Impromptu dinners? I had none!

Shoojit feels Piku is in the Hrishikesh Mukerjee kind of cinema space? Since you were a favourite of the yesteryear legendary filmmaker, do you agree with Shoojit on this?
Hrishi Da was 'middle of the path'. He was neither too escapist commercial nor so-called realistic art cinema. At the time Hrishi Da prevailed with his cinema, it was an exceptional feat that he was able to pull off and succeed. I feel today's times are more conducive to the kind of films that Shoojit is referring to, particularly Piku. I am most keen to see what results Piku brings. It would be an indicator for the industry and for us as well, as artistes.

What were your own thoughts while working on Piku? Was there any sense of nostalgia... anything that brought back memories of a Hrishi Da set?
My thoughts while working on Piku, were with the script, the director, the writer, my colleagues and my limited abilities in whether what I was doing was right and acceptable or not. Those times with Hrishi Da were of a different value, the times with Piku were of a different value! The common factor was Bengal and Bengali. Lots of it! And why not! It is a Bengali family living in Delhi and travelling to Kolkata, in the film.

Would you at all be able to draw any comparison between your screen daughter Deepika and your real daughter Shweta?
No...

What's next in store for you after Piku?
I have a film directed by Bejoy Nambiar, and hopefully, anticipated offers from prospective producers of film and TV!! That's professionally. Personally.. the store's empty!!!

Shweta remarked that she felt Deepika is best suited to play your screen daughter. Do you agree with Shweta? After all, even Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has played your daughter on screen?
Yes, I think there seems to be some truth in that " her features and height seem to match. Creatively... it would depend on what role or character she is asked to display in a particular film. Aishwarya has played my daughter earlier, before her marriage to Abhishek. She is now my bahu.. Though for me, a bahu is also my daughter!!

Anubhav Sinha @anubhavsinha 8m8 minutes ago