At the moment, Shoojit Sircar is all about observing and learning. Reason? His latest film, I Want to Talk, had a slow start at the box office. “The pre- and post-COVID releases are a different dynamic altogether. I’m getting beautiful reactions from whoever is walking into the theatres. But I would have expected a bit more footfall,” the director tells us candidly over a phone call.

But that hasn’t shaken his faith in the Abhishek Bachchan-starrer. Or in his brand of cinema. Over the years, the filmmaker has championed middle-of-the-road films— from Vicky Donor (2012) to October (2018)—in an industry that values mainstream entertainers and box-office numbers over all else. “That persistence is required, otherwise filmmakers like me will vanish. It’s my job as a filmmaker to tell a different kind of story.