All of us fell in love with Shoojit Sircar’s 2015 comedy family drama Piku for its relatable and slice-of-life characters and storyline. In a film centered on the equation between a young architect and her stubborn and nagging father and the issue of constipation being its another key focal point, everyone was transfixed by late actor Irrfan’s portrayal of a taxi company owner Rana Chaudhary.
Chaudhary, despite his own personal and professional issues, embarks on a life-altering road trip to Kolkata with an architect (played by Deepika Padukone) and her ageing but nagging father (played by Amitabh Bachchan).
As effortless as Irrfan looked in the movie, the question remains was he ever in awe of Amitabh Bachchan while shooting the film? Well, we might think that to be the case but veteran actor and Irrfan’s Maqbool co-star Naseeruddin Shah and Piku director Shoojit Sircar have a slightly different take. Shah says that Irrfan was never in awe of Amitabh Bachchan in the film and it reflected in the late actor’s performance.
Shah was quoted as saying in the book Irrfan: A Life in the Movies by senior film journalist Shubhra Gupta: “…Those eyes and that sort of altogether kind of attitude he had—I don’t think that Irrfan suffered the slightest bit of insecurity, like all of us actors do. I don’t think he was ever awed by anyone. And you can see the evidence of that in the film he did with Mr Bachchan (Piku). He was not at all, in any way, awed by the presence”.
To substantiate his point further, Shah recounted veteran actor Robert DeNiro’s comments about the Hollywood legend Marlon Brando, known for movies like A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Julius Caesar (1953), The Godfather (1972), and Apocalypse Now (1979). DeNiro reportedly said on Brando that the latter has a sense of truth in his instincts and reflexes.
Shah stated: “Yeah, it was an amazing ability the man had. You know what Robert DeNiro said about Mr Marlon Brando? That he has a sense of truth in his instincts, in his reflexes. I think Irrfan had the same quality. And I’m certain that he worked at it. As I said he had this thing about wanting to be liked; he wanted to be attractive and he managed that”.
Piku director Shoojit Sircar also concurred with Shah’s take on Irrfan being unfazed by Amitabh Bachchan’s presence on the sets. The filmmaker noted that Irrfan would not only observe Bachchan’s acting but also his preparation behind getting into the skin of the role. Sircar further said that the late actor was completely free of the legend surrounding Bachchan in a few days’ time.
Sircar said: “With Mr Bachchan, I think everyone working with him for the first time is very aware that they are working with him. I had seen that Irrfan would sit on the side and observe Mr Bachchan. Not just his acting, also how he was preparing. And whenever I was sitting with him in his van, he would say ki, Yeh aise hi prepare karte hain har film tumhare saath? [Is this how he prepares in every film he does with you?] And slowly within, a few days, he was completely free of the legend of Big B.”
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The director further remembered that Irrfan was expecting Piku to be a romantic film since Deepika Padukone was a part of the film. Sircar said: “Before we took the script to Irrfan, he thought it was a romantic film. After the first reading, he said, ‘Mujhe to laga yeh romantic film hai’ [I thought this is a romantic film]. So I said, ‘'Nahi, Irrfan, yeh kuch ajeeb sa hi hai but aisa hi hai’ [It is something strange, but it is what it is]. He was expecting some love story because it had Deepika”. He later said that Irrfan got the drift of the project after a few days of reading sessions accompanied with tea and went onto become the Rana Chaudhary that the audience saw in theatres and absolutely loved.
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Irrfan passed away in 2020 after battling cancer. He was 53 years old at the time of his passing away and is survived by his wife Sutapa Sikdar and two sons Babil and Ayan. Shubhra Gupta's book is a compilation of interviews and anecdotes related to Irrfan from his industry colleagues and seniors including Naseeruddin Shah, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Shoojit Sircar, Mira Nair, Karan Johar, Tillotamma Shome, and others. The book has been published by Pan Macmillan.
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