We don’t have to compete with budgets of Hollywood films: Shoojit Sircar

Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar says this competition is futile. Instead, we should focus on our scripts.

With more money being pumped into film productions, the budget of Bollywood films is soaring. However, this should not be our focus, says filmmaker Shoojit Sircar.

Shoojit Sircar says his script is his strength. (Photo: Yogen Shah)

“We can’t compete with Hollywood budgets and we don’t even need to go for multimillion budgets. So, let’s not focus on that. Instead, work on clever planning of a film so we can deliver great cinema. Our script is our strength, and we should give complete attention to that. Only then can we make films at par with world cinema,” says the National award-winning filmmaker.

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Sircar, who has helmed films such as Vicky Donor (2012), Madras Café (2013) and Piku (2015), encouraged new talent such as Ayushmann Khurrana, Yami Gautam and Nargis Fakhri in his films. He believes that with the right vision, they can be as bankable as the big stars in the industry.

“I don’t think we need to rely only on an A-lister to get a blockbuster. A film like Vicky Donor was made with a small budget had almost 300-400% profit margin. A film like Piku, which was made on an out-of-the-box subject, got great recognition. It’s pure content that takes the film ahead, so I think producers should not be afraid. They should come forward and cast young actors. I feel star-driven films are more risky,” says the filmmaker.

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Sircar has also noticed a change in the attitude of young actors, nowadays. “The new lot of actors has also become quite sincere. Earlier, they’d do several projects at the same time, but now, they’re doing one thing at a time and are concentrating on character and script, and taking workshops,” he says.