The Bankable Storyteller

SHOOJIT SIRCAR stands apart in that he not only tells a tale well, but has an eye for economy—so important to the success of his movies where the real hero of the film is the script based on bold topics. 

- Aveek Datta

IN THE 2012 BOLLY WOOD romcom Vicky Donor, there is a wedding sequence where the protagonist Vicky (Ayushmann Khurrana) ties the knot with his lady love Ashima (Yami Gautam). “The cost of putting up a set for a wedding sequence in any other Bollywood film would be equal to the entire budget of Vicky Donor,” says Shoojit Sircar, the director of the film and others such as Piku (2015) and October (2018) which have the essence of both offbeat and mainstream cinema.

“We planned to shoot the movie during the wedding season in December-January and met some people who help organise weddings in the lawns in and around Delhi,” explains Sircar. “One of the organisers informed us of a wedding planned for later one night and we requested them not to dismantle the setup after the ceremony was over, since we would come in the next day and shoot there.”

Sircar stands apart in that he not only tells a tale well, but has an eye for economy—so important to the success of movies where the real hero of the film is the script based on bold topics. Vicky Donor, which revolved around sperm donation and the taboos associated with it in India, is a case in point. It went on to win a national award.

It is remarkable that most of the movies he has been involved with have enjoyed critical acclaim and commercial success. The returns on investment (ROI) from some of Sircar’s films have been higher than some big banner films headlined by stars. For instance, Pink, which was made on a budget of Rs 21 crore, earned an ROI of 224%, which is higher than that of films such as Dear Zindagi (featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt) that released in 2016. Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal, which was made on a Rs 90 crore budget, saw the highest ROI that year—330% (see chart).