"Working with Amitabh Bachchan was fantastic. He is one of the legends of Indian cinema. People will see him in a new avatar in 'Piku', just like a new hero. He is the one who has always shown us a path. He knows how to challenge yourself at this age. He is brilliant to work with. He was like a child on set," Sircar told IANS of the 72-year-old actor.
One wonders if Sircar, who surprised the audience with his sensitive handling of the concept of sperm donation and infertility in his hit 2012 film "Vicky Donor", has also included humour in "Piku", which has the father-daughter relationship at its core.
Asked about it, Sircar said: "'Vicky Donor' was absolutely below the belt comedy, but everybody understood it. Cinema is a medium which everybody understands. So, it's wrong to say that the mass will not understand 'Piku'.
"The film is a family entertainer. People understood 'Vicky Donor' and they also understood many other films. They understand a Hrishikesh Mukherjee or a Raju (Rajkumar) Hirani film, even though Raju's films have strong messages with a quirk. So, we should not underestimate the masses' intelligence."
"Piku" explores the beautiful relationship of a father (Big B) and a daughter (played by Deepika Padukone), while Irrfan Khan plays a mediator of sorts between the two.
Sircar says the film with a "fresh idea and casting" made people smile with its trailer itself.
"'Piku' is inspired from real life people. Every person can connect the film to himself and his family," he added.
Why did he cast the unconventional pair of Deepika and Irrfan in "Piku"?
"Deepika and Irrfan look different and unique. They bring freshness to the story. That's the USP (unique selling point) of the film. The film is all about acting and they are in top form," Sircar said.
The filmmaker, who calls "Piku" an amalgamation of commercial and arthouse cinema, says his style of movies has always delved upon "human values".
"In the Indian film scenario, the topic of commercial cinema and arthouse cinema is gone. There is no term called art cinema now. The two have mingled up. Now whatever people like, they want to go and watch it.
"I still don't know my side. I'm still discovering myself. I find that if there are insights in the film, if there is new dimension to the whole film, if the concept of a film strikes my heart and teaches me a lot of human values, philosophies of human life, then I pick it up," he said.
"Piku", which also stars Moushumi Chatterjee, Raghuvir Yadav and Jishu Sengupta among others, will release on Friday.
