When filmmaker Shoojit Sircar reflected on how he once felt scared to even enter the gates of National School of Drama (NSD), his thoughts resonated with many lovers of theatrics. The reverence for the drama school is such. Recalling his time when he was an ad filmmaker and much more, Shoojit spoke his heart out during his recent visit to Mandi House for a conversation with NSD director Chittaranjan Tripathy, at the session titled Sarcaar Yahan Wahan at the ongoing Bharat Rang Mahotsav 2026. Excerpts:
From NSD’s gate to the stage
“Himmat nahin hoti thi ki main NSD ke gate se andar aaun. This I’m talking about early 2000s and late 90s… Aaj main jab walk karke yahan aaya toh mujhe laga ki zindagi mein kuchh achieve kiya hai jo yahan (stage) tak pahunch gaya hoon,” shares Shoojit.
Regaling the audience with anecdotes from his journey till date, the director shares how it’s imperative to evolve to achieve one’s goals. “Itna waqt lagta hai wahan (gate) se yahan (stage) tak aane mein… Toh itna waqt mind mein lekar chaliye aap log ki itna time lagega,” he said addressing the theatre students in the audience, adding, “Gate se lekar hundred steps yahan tak aane ke liye, itna evolve hona padhta hai.”
An ode to guru
Reminiscing about his mentor NK Sharma – theatre director and founder of Act One theatre group – Shoojit shares on how the teacher played a role in instilling discipline in him, which he still applies in the films that he makes today. “One of my mentors, my godfather in theatre is Mr NK Sharma. Whatever I have learned from him, I’ve applied those dynamics into films and my everyday activities… Aaj jo aap Shoojit Sircar dekh rahe hain, main usi ka hi ek part hoon.”
Real to reel life inspo
When Chittaranjan asked Shoojit about about the inspiration behind the diverse topics he chooses to make films on, the director-producer said, “Piku is someone I have seen in my family, possibly in every family. Later on, I came to know when people would tell me that there’s a Piku (character played by Deepika Padukone) or Bhaskor Banerjee (played by Amitabh Bachchan) in their family… Sardar Udham happened because main Golden Temple gaya aur wahaan se walk karate huye peheli bar main Jallianwala Bagh gaya. I entered the bagh, saw goliyon ke nishan wahan, and came out feeling numb. Tabhi se kuchh trigger hua.”
When Shoojit said ‘cut’ to Mr Bachchan
During his time as an ad filmmaker, Shoojit knew that the right time to cut a scene was after 30 seconds. But, little did he know that as a feature film director, he would have to let go of that habit. Recalling an instance from the sets of Shoebite (unreleased), Shoojit recalled how his old habit led to him feel a bit baffled later. “Mr Amitabh Bachchan perform kar rahe thhay ek scene mein. Mere mind mein editing chal raha tha and jaise hi 30 seconds ho gaye, maine cut boldiya…. Jo cinematographer tha woh mere paas aaya aur bola ‘Tune itni jaldi cut kyu bola?’ I then said apologising to Mr Bachchan ‘Sorry sir maine cut bola, mera bad habit hai.”
NSD director Chittaranjan Tripathy: Jo darr gaya so marr gaya
When asked how theatre enthusiasts till date feel it daunting to seek admission in NSD and feel nervous about facing its examination processes, NSD director Chittaranjan Tripathi tells HT City: “Jo darr gaya so marr gaya! Himmat rakhna chahiye kyunki itne bade desh mein NSD mein ek seat milna bahut difficult job hai. Lekin jo hard work karte hain, unka bhagwan bhi sunnta hai.”
Story by Mehaa Aneja
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