October writer Juhi Chaturvedi reveals Shiuli Iyer is based on her mother

Writer Juhi Chaturvedi has revealed that the real-life inspiration behind Banita Sandhu’s character Shiuli Iyer in Varun Dhawan’s October was her own mother in an emotional post.

Film writer Juhi Chaturvedi, who has collaborated with filmmaker Shoojit Sircar in several films, has revealed the real-life inspiration for the character of Shiuli Iyer in Varun Dhawan-starrer October. In an emotional post on Twitter, she wrote that it was her mother who was her ‘real life Shiuli’.

Juhi Chaturvedi has collaborated with Shoojit Sircar for films like Vicky Donor, Madras Cafe and October.

“My ma. real life Shiuli. 30 years of her illness: haemorrhage/depression/renal failure/transplnt/memory loss/cancer/coma made me a quasi nephro-onco-neuro-therapst/full time caregiver/writer & humour appreciator. To nt hv medical refrnce in wht I write is tuf bt Ive tried. Next:)” Juhi tweeted.

In the film, which released last year, newcomer Banita Sandhu plays a young woman called Shiuli who goes into coma after she meets with an accident. Varun essayed the role of a batch mate and admirer of Banita’s character who eventually falls in love with her.

Earlier, talking about her mother, Juhi had told DNA in an interview, “I was in Class 2 or 3 when mom had a haemorrhage, she survived that. Then there was kidney faliure and transplant, cancer.... I almost grew up in hospitals and around doctors. It was like hum hi aadhe doctor khud ban gaye the. I was checking blood pressure when I was in class six. I guess if I wasn’t in this profession, I would’ve ended up being a doctor. She passed away after 30 years of suffering, just before Vicky Donor released, but we managed to show it to her at home,” she had said during promotions for Deepika Padukone-Amitabh Bachchan-Irrfan Khan-starrer Piku.

“My mother (Mridula) was a housewife. Life at home was a little tough because of my mother’s bad health, but it made me emotionally strong. In spite of that, I had a beautiful childhood,” she added.

Juhi has mostly worked with Shoojit on his films Madras Cafe, Vicky Donor, Piku, October and her upcoming film is Priyanka Chopra-Farhan Akhtar-starrer The Sky Is Pink.

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