'Piku' director reveals Irrfan insisted on shooting an alternate ending
What's the story
On the sixth death anniversary of late actor Irrfan Khan, filmmaker Shoojit Sircar revealed that he had shot an alternate ending for their 2015 film Piku on Khan's insistence. The revelation was made after a screening of A Story That Refused To Die at Mumbai's Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre on Wednesday, April 29. The documentary focused on the making of Khan's critically acclaimed film Paan Singh Tomar (2012).
Filmmaker's anecdote
'I was shooting the last sequence...'
Sircar shared an anecdote from the shoot of Piku, where Khan played Rana. He recalled, "I was shooting the last sequence of Piku where Rana (Khan) and Piku (Deepika Padukone) were playing badminton outside the house." "I had shouted 'Cut.' Irrfan approached me and said he wanted to talk." "He asked me, 'Mereko andar nahin jaana hai?' I replied, 'Why would you go inside the house?'"
Actor's demand
'I tried to reason, but he kept insisting...'
Sircar further shared, "Meanwhile, no one knew exactly how Piku was going to end." "He insisted, 'Shoojit da, I should go inside. Aapne toh kaha tha ki yeh ek romantic film hai!'" "I tried to reason, but he kept insisting, 'Mere ko andar jaane do. The house help comes. She goes inside, so does Piku, and I'll also follow." "I gave in and told him that I'll shoot it as an option."
Director's decision
The filmmaker shot the alternate ending but didn't include it
Sircar said that he eventually shot the alternate ending but didn't include it in the final edit. "I shot it but of course I didn't keep it in the end. I showed him (and he understood my point of view). Very few people know about it." Meanwhile, Piku went on to earn ₹141.3 crore worldwide, as per Sacnilk.