The Rising Mavericks
Featuring Varun Dhawan and debutant Banita Sandhu, October is an emotional journey which seeks love in the strangest of circumstances.
14 April 2018 1:53 PM GMT
Producer-director of October, Shoojit Sircar and producer Ronnie Lahiri, talk about their intriguing film with Team Box Office India
Box Office India (BOI): Shoojit, how did October come about? How did it all start?
Shoojit Sircar (SS): It actually started long, long ago. The basic idea had been with me since 2004. It was based on a small, personal experience.
BOI: Even before Yahaan?
SS: When I was shooting Yahaan. A little moment from the film was a personal experience. It was with me since then. Juhi (Chaturvedi) and I would keep saying that we have created many kinds of stories and we wanted to create a relationship story too. We wanted to make something from the perspective of young people, who are just about 20 years old. And while writing Piku in 2014, the germ of an idea came in.
And as soon as Juhi finished Piku, she started writing this story. It is a personal experience from her life as well and we also got some inspiration from newspaper clippings which depicted things happening at other places, other personal stories.
Then Juhi came up with this brilliant script of October. We were actually planning to shoot this film before Pink but were unable to finalise the cast and so we started with that film. We waited another year for the casting to fall in place. Then, after Varun (Dhawan) was cast, we wanted to shoot this movie before Judwaa 2 started filming. But when Varun heard the way I was looking at this film, he said he wanted to finish Judwaa 2 first so that he could dedicate himself to October. The film was to come out in 2016 but it was delayed.
BOI: How did the cast come on board for this film?
SS: I usually prefer a fresh cast for my films. Before Varun was finalised, the entire cast was on board. I met the leading lady, Banita Sandhu, who is from Wales when I did a commercial with her when Pink was being made. She played a college girl in the ad. As soon as I saw her, I clicked a picture and sent it to Ronnie (Lahiri) and Juhi. I told them this was the girl for the film and they all agreed. That's how she was cast. The rest of the cast are people that either Ronnie, or Juhi or I already knew. Some of them were brought on board by my casting director with whom I have worked in all my films. Varun's casting was accidental.
He wanted to meet me but we were unable to schedule a meeting for about a week. Then, one day, he called me and asked ke sir main aa jaun aaj? I was in Juhu and had to leave for Kolkata soon as I spend a lot of time there and told him to come over immediately as I had a flight to catch. He had just woken up and, on my insistence, came just as he was, in a dishevelled state. I have actually lived with the character of Dan for quite some time and as soon as he came in, everything just fit.
I had a completely different idea about Varun with the kind of films he does even though I haven't watched his films. But from what I did know, he was not on our radar at all. Still, I saw a real character of mine in him. When you watch the film, you will know what I mean. He was just perfect. I asked him whether I could take a picture of him. He was surprised and replied that he had come casually. I sent the picture to Ronnie and Juhi and told them that he was Dan. They agreed and I immediately asked him if he would play the part. He said he wasn't expecting that and was quite shocked. That is how the entire cast came together.
BOI: Ronnie, while casting, how much is it a creative call and how much is it a commercial call?
Ronnie Lahiri (RL): We usually take creative calls. Once the casting is done, we work out the budget backwards. If it is a big star, then it doesn't mean my budget will increase. My production cost will remain the same. The star's cost will go up. The economics are very simple. If the star is asking for say 'x' price, then I say that if you can guarantee that on a Friday and Saturday, you can take your fee from that. Let the film run on its own. If the star cannot guarantee that kind of box office performance, then it is better to have a fresh face in the film because the story is the hero.
BOI: All your films have a different main cast. Why is that?
SS: I am okay with a new cast in every film. I have nothing to fear. As I said, the hero of my film is the script. As soon as I have a bound script, I get excited about it. My team knows what scene is being shot, who is doing it, and I enjoy all of it behind the camera. The script is something I am sure of and I don't bother about anything else.
BOI: But are you open to repeating leads?
SS: Yes, but only if the script demands it. There is no compulsion to work with actors I have worked with before. If my writer writes a script and it absolutely fits even Mr Bachchan or Deepika (Padukone) or Ayushmaan (Khurrana) or Irrfan, I will work with them. I have a rapport with them. We have worked like a very close-knit family, so they know my style and I too know them very well. I know what they can bring out on screen. Yes, of course, I will repeat lead actors if the script demands it.
BOI: One more striking fact about your filmography is that each succeeding film is different from the one before. Is that a deliberate decision?
SS: It is not too conscious a decision. My basic learning of the creative form is through theatre. Theatre teaches you how to make films that are relevant and to be conscious of your social environment and what is happening all around you. If there is a current topic that touches me, I want to give it my voice. A film is the writer's and director's voice. I don't decide on a genre and then make a film in that genre. I discuss a couple of films with Ronnie and Juhi and we work on them only if we are all excited about them.
I don't announce films just like that; only when I have a bound script. What happens is that you work on many scripts but they don't always result in the kind of good cinema that you had envisioned. My cinema is absolutely driven by what touches me.
BOI: We all know that youth is a huge market for cinema, probably the most important market. You have a youth icon in Varun Dhawan as your male lead. What does the film have to offer the youth?
SS: Well, it is a film with a new story. Why do you come to watch a film? You come for the story. You forget your star in 10 minutes and then you only see the character. If I had to watch a star for two hours, I would definitely start yawning. Dekh liye tujhe, ab aage kya? Aage kya dikhaoge? You forget the hero in 5 minutes and you get into the character and the story.
Varun's fans and admirers have a beautiful story to look forward to. It is a very personal story for me. Varun sometimes gets panicked by what I keep saying in the media but it is true that I don't make films for anybody, I make them for myself. First, the film is for myself and my own people. Do we like this film or not? Do we want to watch this film or not? If we don't like to watch our own films, how can we show them to the audience? So, I try to answer the questions 'Do I like the film or not? Do I want to watch the film repeatedly or not?' And with October, I have watched it many times and I want to see it many more times. That is what is in store for them.
BOI: What is the significance of the title October?
SS: You would have to watch the film to understand its title. Everything Juhi writes means something. Whether it is Vicky Donor or Piku or the dialogue of Madras Café, everything has some kind of relevance to the film. October has a very beautiful relevance to the film; it is something you have to experience because my films don't have a story.
Piku didn't have a story. It was about a father and daughter who fight all the time and the father is constipated. People kept asking me, iske aage kya hua? I say that iske aage yehi hua, uske aage bhi yehi hua and uske aage bhi yehi hua. October is the same. It is not the kind of story where one thing follows the other. There is just insight and emotion. We catch hold of that and go forward with it. You will find the relevance when you experience October.
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