We wanted to keep things as authentic as possible: Shoojit Sircar on 'Sardar Udham' catering to the class audience

Sircar said he enjoyed working with Vicky Kaushal as he was extremely humble

Director Shoojit Sircar's latest movie Sardar Udham released a few days ago, receiving rave reviews for its top-notch performances and production values. A section of the audience, however, felt that it catered to the 'classes' and not the 'masses' as it featured several English dialogues. The Piku helmer says the team decided to make a 'classy' film as they wanted to keep everything as authentic as possible.

"It was clear to me from the word go that the British characters would speak in English. We did not want to change anything on that front as the idea was to make the film feel authentic," he told DH.

The film is based on the life of the Indian revolutionary Udham Singh and highlights the aftermath of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

"We wanted the Jallianwala Bagh incident to be as extended as possible. We also decided to do away with songs and go in with an original score only," added the director.

Sardar Udham was to be made with the late Irrfan but that did not happen as the Hindi Medium star opted out of the project due to health reasons.

"We started afresh when Vicky came on board. The Irrfan project did not materialise at all. This a different project," said Sircar.

Working with the Masaan actor, nonetheless, proved to be a memorable experience for Sircar as the star was open to suggestions and cooperated with him to the fullest.

"It was a beautiful experience as he is humble and always keen to take instructions," added the director.

Sardar Udham has an impressive cast that includes Banita Sandhu, Shaun Scott and Amol Parashar. It was to release in theatres but that did not happen due to the Covid-19. The makers eventually opted for a 'direct to OTT' premiere via Prime Video. This is Sircar's second film to skip the theatrical route as Gulabo Sitabo had released on the same platform last year. The comedy-drama, set in Lucknow, had an impressive cast headlined by Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana.