He has framed sensitive situations of conflict zones in films like "Yahaan" and "Madras Cafe" and narrated simple but effective stories with "Vicky Donor" and "Piku". And director Shoojit Sircar says he tries to take influences from world cinema's greatest auteur Satyajit Ray's work and infuse them in his projects.

"He (Satyajit Ray) has been my teacher. I could never meet him but I always wanted to. When I was eight years old then my father had took me to watch a film in Kolkata. I was so bored that I slept and came back and that movie was 'Pather Panchali'," said Sircar, addressing a session at Film Bazaar here on Saturday.

The director, started his career with theatre and went on make advertisements before hitting the silver screen with his strong yet subtle cinema making techniques, also delved on how his admiration towards Ray developed.

"Then we shifted to Delhi and when I was in Class 11, all students were taken for that movie again and I walked out of it halfway again. I had nothing to do with films, art and literature or football but then somehow I started doing theatre and I watched this film again in Delhi.

"And that day when I saw the film something happened to me I kept on watching the film. I was numb, I cried and it became one my favourite film. I was attracted towards his work due to its purity and simplicity with no film gimmick. And since then in all my films I try take influences and references from it and try to adopt it in my films," said Sircar.


The director, who after giving a blockbuster hit with stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone with "Piku" will be soon directing John Abraham in "1911", shared his love for Ray and his work while talking at a session named "A journey of storytelling".

Sircar even quipped that knowing "Apu trilogy" is his condition for his writers and actors, adding that his endeavour to reflect Ray's mark with his work may "not be definite but it comes".

Sircar not only talked about his journey in Bollywood, but also threw light on how Gujarat is one of the most sought film shooting destination at another session at the film market, which is held alongside International Film Festival of India.

Organised by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), the annual film market is underway till November 24.