Theatre helps me ideate stories with socio-political background in mind: Shoojit Sircar

His films are often about exploring the unexplored subjects in Hindi cinema -- and he does it with a rare ease. Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar says it is his background in theatre which has taught him how to take risks.

"I think there are two very crucial factors that shaped up things for me. Firstly, I have grown up in Delhi and I come from a theatre background. While living in Delhi made me politically quite conscious as the atmosphere in the city is such, theatre helps me to ideate stories keeping a socio-political background in mind," Sircar told IANS in an interview here.

Sircar has worked on subjects like sperm donation in the comedy "Vicky Donor" and the issue of Tamil separatists and Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in the 2013 political thriller spy film "Madras Café". And he handled these subjects deftly.

"When you are doing theatre, you are absolutely hand to mouth. However, that does not stop you to do theatre... Rather you look for a way to execute your idea. Theatre teaches you to take risks. You grow the temperament of working in a group with different people and learn how to survive," he added.

Marking his Bollywood debut in 2005 with the film "Yahaan", the National Award winning filmmaker has also helmed women-centric films like "Piku" and "Pink".

Asked if it is a reflection of his conscience, Sircar said: "As a director, I am absolutely responsible for the projection of women in my films. They are the reflection of my thoughts in the film. You cannot see me on screen, but you can see my vision through the characters. So yes, I am conscious on that."

"Having said that, I do not want to hold the flagship of redefining Indian women in cinema. This is how I see women -- strong, opinionated, modern and with respect."

Sircar has made film stars out of some budding talents like Ayushmann Khurrana, Yami Gautam and Taapsee Pannu. He has also worked with established names like Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone.

Talking about working with actors with different career graphs, he said: "I wish to work with Amitabh Bachchan in all my films in the rest of my life... In fact, I am working on some scripts along with my writers keeping him in mind."

"Having said that, on set, everybody is same, in all my films. Everyone comes as an individual without carrying the baggage of stardom."

Sircar is nowadays busy promoting his production "Running Shaadi", a comedy drama directed by Amit Roy. He is also working on a biopic on freedom fighter Udham Singh.

--IANS