Released in 2018, October, starring Varun Dhawan, is a special Shoojit Sircar directed drama, considered one of the standout films of his career. He talks with Subhash K Jha about the personal aspects of the film, his thoughts on the performances by Banita Sandhu and Varun Dhawan, and so much more.
Shoojit, do you think October would have worked with a more mature actor than Varun Dhawan?
No, absolutely not. I think absolutely, you know, terrific in terms of cast. I wouldn’t have imagined better than that.
So, would you change anything if you had to remake the film?
Nothing in this, this one film that I would go with whatever I have done, I think I’m quite, actually I’m quite glad about it. Varun especially completely surprised me with his delicate handling of emotions and so much of compassion and empathy that the character required. He brought in those moments so effortlessly. So I think I’m just so grateful to Varun that he agreed to work with me, and he just surprised me with his with his performance.
Your October leading lady Banita Sandhu made no headway in spite of a dream role?
You mean, dreaming role? With Banita, I am thankful to her because, you know, she had to lie down and act comatose and do that performance. She had to be that honest there. And how beautiful, you know, I cannot express in words what she has done, just lying there with those straight gazes.
The music also contributed to the film’s meditative mood.
I’m very glad that I could work with Avikda (Mukhopadhyay) for the cinematography, Shantanu Moitra for the music, Gitanjali Rao and all the other actors in the crew, Veera Kapoor for the costumes, Mansi Mehta for the art direction. So I think in the film all came together. So I will be always glad and grateful that we could all make a film like October and I like, I like the way that it is maturing year after year and so much love. So I’m thankful.
How much of October is personal?
It’s actually a tribute to the times that I’ve spent in hospital and especially to my mother, you know, and finding those little joys of life in those mundane moments. The best thing in the entire process was the writing, which Juhi Chaturvedi and I were going through. We shared a lot of personal experiences into the film.
Closing thoughts?
I am really thankful that, you know, I could make a film like October. It’s difficult to convince a producer like Ronnie Lahiri to came on board for something so unconventional. And I’m extremely thankful to Banita and Varun Dhawan, because I think what they have done, what they have brought in the film…I was completely in awe of both Varun Dhawan and Banita Sandhu. It was actually an outlet for me in processing my own personal emotions that I have gone through. And also, a lot of human experiences, or you can say my own hospital experiences, those fleeting moments of life, all that reflected in this film. October is really special to me.
