‘I have no expectations’ The release of Shoebite, starring Amitabh Bachchan, got stalled. Now, six years after his debut directorial film Yahaan, Shoojit Sircar is ready to hit the theatres with Vicky Donor Continuing our new section which gets into the filmmaker’s mind

‘I have no expectations’

The release of Shoebite, starring Amitabh Bachchan, got stalled. Now, six years after his debut directorial film Yahaan, Shoojit Sircar is ready to hit the theatres with Vicky Donor

Continuing our new section which gets into the filmmaker’s mind

What prompted you to make a film on a taboo topic like sperm donation? The concept came from the writer Juhi Chaturvedi and I readily agreed. If the idea had come from a man I would have probably thought twice about it. Infertility is a serious subject, but we decided to give it a humorous treatment as that will get people openly talking about sperm donation. There are no double meaning dialogues nor is it slapstick. The film is based on real anecdotes, which we have sourced from Dr Malpani, who started the infertility clinic. How did you get actor John Abraham to produce it? John and I were in talks for another film. I had narrated the script to a common friend Ram Mirchandani and he suggested that I speak to John who was on the verge of starting his banner. John loved the script and I am happy that he agreed to back Vicky Donor as his first production and also at the way he is pushing the film. Did you always want a fresh cast for the film? Yes. That was clear when we were designing the script. I knew no stars would do the film and did not want to waste my time pursuing them. Also, I did not wantthe baggage a star carries because the novelty of the film was the subject. Both Ayushmann Khurrana and Yami Gautam have done a brilliant job and now I am planning to cast the duo in my next film. You must be banking a lot on this film considering Shoebite with Amitabh Bachchan has been stuck . Not really. I have no expectations. My job is to make a film and present it. Films are not my bread and butter, they are a passion. I am basically an ad filmmaker. I have just shot the second round of commercials for Gujarat tourism with Amitabh Bachchan. As for Shoebite, I went through the worst experience and was extremely depressed when the film didn’t release. Is it true that Manoj Night Shyamalan, who conceived the idea, is responsible for stalling it? No. Though it was Manoj’s idea, he had given the rights to UTV. Rensil D’Silva developed the script and Juhi Chaturvedi wrote the dialogue. Now Fox Studio has decided to make a film based on the subject in Hollywood and has told UTV not to release the film. It is really unfortunate. Have you started work on your next film Jaffna starring John Abraham? It will go on the floor by the end of this year. It’s a serious, edgy thriller based on Sri Lankan politics. However, it will be shot entirely in India.