The lockdown period has surely led people to adapt to the ‘new normal’ and successfully brought people to adapt to social media, but Shoojit Sircar definitely stands as an exception. For more than a month, the filmmaker has managed to maintain a discreet life, away from the social media world. Sircar has deactivated his Twitter account and hasn’t logged into the Instagram and Facebook accounts too.
“Yes, that’s true,” says Sircar, adding: “I felt there was too much noise (on social media) and I wanted to keep myself away. I, anyway, get my share of news and updates through TV and newspapers. So, honestly, I am not missing being on social media. I realised that one gets addicted to it, and then you unnecessarily spend a lot of time on it. Otherwise, you can do so many constructive things.”
Now, that he is keeping himself away from social media Sircar “has all the time in the world to happily indulge in cooking, mediating and spending time with family.” Also, professional assignments tend to take up the filmmaker’s huge amount of time. “I am working on the editing of my next (Sardar Udham Singh starring Vicky Kaushal). Plus, I am in the middle of penning my next, so I also do spend a lot of time doing research, reading and writing,” says Sircar, who is stationed at his family home in Kolkata.
Even though India slowly progresses towards resuming normal life, Sircar has no plans yet to travel back to Mumbai. “There’s nothing specific that I need to be in the city for. Plus, I am enjoying living the simple life here (in Kolkata) where I am doing household chores, watching some interesting content including documentaries and also taking time out for gardening. Plus, this lockdown period has given a lot of time for introspection as well,” he signs off saying.
His recent release, the quirky ‘Gulaabo Sitabo’ hit the streaming platform Amazon Prime on June 22nd. Brimming with flavour, the movie went on to touch the heart-strings of cinephiles and received much appreciation.