Was scared to bring Big B, Irrfan together: Shoojit

It was something of a feat for Shoojit Sircar to bring Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan Khan together in his film Piku but the director says he was initially unsure how the two stars would react to each other’s presence.

Piku, also starring Deepika Padukone, is about her relationship with her father (Bachchan), who spends most of his time obsessing over age-related issues. Irrfan forms the third wheel of the story. 

Shoojit now feels the megastar’s chemistry with Irrfan is one of the highlights of the movie.

“I tell everyone Irrfan is the only international star we have. I was sceptical the first day he and Mr Bachchan met on the set, it was a Robert De Niro and Al Pacino moment for me. “But it all went well... Apart from the pairing of Deepika and Irrfan, it is also a delight to watch Irrfan and Mr Bachchan together,” Shoojit told PTI.

“All three of them are absolutely poles apart. Mr Bachchan will constantly do rehearsals and then he will go for a take and that will be the final take. Deepika will do rehearsals but while doing that she will try to grab her movements, performances. 

“Irrfan is very different. When he is acting and when not, is difficult to tell. It was great fun for me to have three different styles of acting. Irrfan said if somebody wants to learn acting and what is the process for it, they should work with Mr Bachchan. He was completely mesmerised by Big B’s style of acting,” Shoojit said.