Subhash K Jha (DNA; May 19, 2014)

Amitabh Bachchan may be by far the most iconic star of our cinema but that doesn’t stop him from attending rehearsals like a newcomer for Shoojit Sircar’s Piku where the megastar will share screen space with Irrfan Khan for the first time.

Though Irrfan’s schedules too are choc-a-block — he’ll be shooting simultaneously in Mumbai and LA — he too has agreed to participate in the acting workshops for the film. Says a source close to the project, “This is the first time when Irrfan will be sharing screen space with the Big B. He’s understandably excited and challenged. He asked Shoojit to create a comfort level between the two specially since Big B and Irrfan share very intense dramatic sequences in Piku.”

Shoojit says it wasn’t easy getting the four actors to spare time for the workshops. “Bachchan saab, Irrfan, Deepika (Padukone) and Jisshu Sengupta are all extremely busy. But they had absolutely no hesitation in slicing precious meat out of their fat schedules to go through the rehearsals.”

Shoojit believes workshops are specially important in this film. “It is a very real drama, the emotions are not cinematic. The feelings expressed have to be absolutely authentic. Luckily, I’ve actors who are more than willing to surrender completely to the project.They have been told that we cannot start shooting unless we do the workshops. They’re all joining me for workshops for a couple of weeks before we begin shooting at the end of July.”