Shoojit Sircar’s I Want To Talk starring Abhishek Bachchan was released in 2024. The film was based on the life of Arjun Sen, and recently, The Free Press Journal interacted with Sen, and spoke to him about the movie, Abhishek winning the Best Actor award, and more…
When was the first time you were approached to make a film about your life?
Shoojit Sircar and I were on a podcast. After the podcast, we became friends. Then COVID came, and we had conversations. During this process, we became really good friends, and from ‘director sir’, Shoojit became a dear friend. And for him, from ‘Arjun Sen’, I became ‘Arjun Da’. After that, one day, randomly, Shoojit reached out to me and talked about how he wants to make a movie about my life. Initially, I brushed it off, laughing, because I had never watched a movie. The very fact that you're talking to a director does not mean that there's a movie. That's when Shoojit convinced me that this is an every-person story, which will relate to people, and there were some fascinating people in my life, the same people who supported me. For me, the dealmaker was when he said, ‘Arjun da, sometimes you're funny.’ I really liked that. And the rest is history.
Before I Want To talk, did any other filmmaker approach you to make a film?
No. Just to be very clear, I never saw a movie being made about my life. It was never in my subconscious, on my bucket list, or in my vision anywhere. I was living my life in my corner of the world, going through every day. I'm so glad Shoojit chose to make the movie.
What was your reaction when you watched the movie?
You know, especially as the movie was being made, I was in Hemet, California, seeing the filming, and what hit me was, number one, all the people in my life. I'm so grateful that even in the toughest of days, these people would never give up on me, and the superpower that I have is these amazing people in my life. Secondly, I was a little envious of Shoojit Sircar, Rising Sun Films, and the team, because they were reassured, seeing me standing there, and knowing how the movie ends, Arjun will be there, alive. I didn't have that luxury.
The film did not perform well at the box office and was released with minimal promotion. Did that disappoint you?
No, not really. To me, the success of the movie was its storytelling, and Shoojit is a master storyteller. And we all know how he has reshaped Hindi movies and built a bridge between good stories that come from the heart and commercial success. I was amazed by the number of people who were reaching out to me, inspired in their lives. So, the box office and everything else are for Shoojit and everybody else to worry about. For me, I'm just happy with the number of people who have reached out, sharing their 'unquit' stories.
Recently, Abhishek Bachchan won the Filmfare Best Actor award for his performance in the movie. What do you have to say about it?
I'm very proud. I also think there's a mega learning for all of us, which has happened in front of us. In 2000, this young man came into the movie industry with the movie Refugee. Since then, he has done some amazing movies and portrayed amazing roles, but somehow, it could be luck, or it could be because others had better performances that year; I don't know, I'm not an expert, but he never won a major best actor award. But he never gave up. And I'm so glad it happened with I Want to Talk, the movie about my life, for which he won Best Actor. He won one of the big awards in India, Melbourne, and now Filmfare. First of all, he deserves the award. I am a little biased, of course. There is a bigger story for us here: if you have a dream, even if it takes 25 years, keep at it. And make sure that the most recent effort is your best effort. That's what he did. His best effort was saved for the most recent effort.
A lot of people are saying he also deserves a National Award. Do you think he will win?
I'm not an expert. I also want to stay in the present and celebrate the present. He gave me the greatest gift by choosing to portray Arjun Sen and being the face of my not-giving-up story on the big screen. For that, I'm eternally grateful to him. I'm happy. Not just the National Award, I wish he would win all the awards that are on this planet. But whether he wins it or not is not in my control. And I do not think any success can be taken from him in the future.
