For Shoojit Sircar, the re-release of Vicky Donor is not just a moment of nostalgia - it’s an emotional ride. "I can't control my excitement as a director, that the film is re-releasing," he says with disbelief and joy. "This thought itself is addictive to me because aisa hua nahi hai. I’m in awe. Aise hota nahi hai normally that a film is re-releasing. For a director and a technician, and for everybody associated with the film, the film coming on the big screen is like a boon. I'm over-excited, not excited. I'm over-excited," he says.

Thirteen years later, the humour in Vicky Donor still lands, the warmth is still felt - but what remains for him as a director when he returns to it now? He says, "Somehow, it doesn’t feel like a 13-year-old film. It just feels like - Abhi yaar, kuch saal pehle hi banaya hai. It doesn’t feel 13–14 years have gone by."

In conversation, he walked us back through the film - what it was, what it became, and the nostalgia of seeing it again.

Shoojit Sircar watched the film again while preparing for the re-release, and says it stirred more than just excitement. He says, "I was just watching the film and I was thinking - did I make this film? Am I the same person I made this film? I was really amazed." he says.

Talking about the cast, he says, "Such an amazing cast, such amazing performances, such exuberance in their performances. There's so much joy," he says, crediting the film’s energy to the team behind it.

"The way Juhi wrote the film, the way Ayushmann came and the way my friend Ronnie came to produce the film, the way Annu Kapoor came, Yami was cast, Dolly ji and Biji came, and the songs. The entire thing - I think ho gaya hoga. Ho jata hai na kabhi kabhi," he adds.

Shoojit Sircar shares that he hadn’t anticipated the film’s success. He says,"Three things happened. The film became quite a talk of the town, which I didn't expect. I was really scared when the film was released because I thought this film is not a regular subject to deal with."

The film on sperm donation, touched on a taboo subject. He adds, "Second, a lot of conversations came up tha - are you a Punjabi? That question came up - 'how do you know Punjabi, how do you know Punjabi culture so well?"

He reveals, "Then I tell people that I have spent time in Delhi, I have so many Punjabi friends. Somewhere I'm a ghost Sardar. Even after being a Bengali, somewhere there is a lot of punjabiyat in me."

The cultural richness of Delhi - particularly the Punjabiyat of Lajpat Nagar - flowed into the film naturally. “Those little things that we picked up in the Punjabiyat of Delhi, especially among Delhi Punjabis and Lajpat Nagar. All my friends are from there. And they actually got married to a girl from CR Park, so that has happened. If we actually start showing culture clashes (in movies), it can be much bizarre than this. We have shown it in a very conservative way (in Vicky Donor), but actually mein toh abuses aa jayenge, gaali-galauj aa jayega.”

He says, "Third was Dolly ji and Biji drinking together. That one scene was talked about a lot - how beautifully Juhi had written it, and what the two of them brought to it. I often look back at that scene - Will I be able to pull off that scene today or not? I think we all go through everyday drills. But at the end of the day there is some kind of warmth in relationships that also exists."

That cultural clash in Vicky Donor - between the Punjabi and Bengali families, especially the wedding scene really stuck with people. The ‘Rum rum whiskey’ has become a go-to track on reels.

Talking about the scene where the families meet, he says, "What Jayanto Da (who played Yami Gautam's character's father) has done – and between him and Dolly ji and Ayushmann and Pishi (Swaroopa Das) - she is too good. I think what happened there in that room that day was amazing. Jayanto Da has actually lived in CR Park in Delhi. He knew that elite Bengali – talking about culture."

He says that the cultural contrast between Biji (Kamlesh Gill) and Dolly Ahluwalia on one side, and the Bengali family on the other, required no forced staging. "It was naturally flowing because Dolly ji and Biji were as frivolous as they could be. They were just talking. When we were writing the character of Dolly ji, we told her – we are writing you. I think that cultural clash, we live with that. Even in Bengal, and when I talk about Punjabi, there is an understanding, love, criticism – everything. You can understand when a Bengali girl is married to a Punjabi, and in this kind of marriage discussion, this is just evident," he says.

In Lajpat Nagar, almost every house has a biji and Dolly ji - small houses, interconnected terraces. Vicky Donor took out Lajpat Nagar from Delhi and made it a city in itself in Hindi movies. How did he create that identity for Lajpat Nagar.

Shoojit Sircar recalls his good old Lajpat days, "Lajpat Nagar ke chhole kulche, chhole bhature and all the garment shops, all the ladies being there for that salwar and dupatta shopping. My school was KV, Andrews Ganj, a short walk away. From my school days, every Friday, Saturday, Sunday I used to spend in Lajpat Nagar."

During his theatre days, he would frequent the area with friends, jamming, writing at Piyush Mishra's place in Lajpat Nagar. “I'm a south Delhi boy. My upbringing was in CR Park and in other parts of Delhi, but Lajpat Nagar never left me. I knew every house there. 75 gaj wala ghar hota tha wahan pe – chhota se entrance, straight lamba sa. Then there was Nirula’s below the flyover – so Lajpat Nagar never left me. Lajpat Nagar is in my blood.” (laughs)

The writer of Vicky Donor, Juhi Chaturvedi, also lived there. “Lajpat Nagar and Connaught Place – I don't think I will ever forget Lajpat Nagar,” he says. Back then, many of his friends from Lajpat Nagar were just starting out. “Some have become actors, writers, directors, some big producers. Lajpat Nagar is a city in itself.”

The interiors for the film were shot in Rajouri Garden. “We actually shot in Rajouri Garden. We shot exteriors in Lajpat Nagar and we shot interiors somewhere in Rajouri Garden because there are many parts of the city that actually look like Lajpat Nagar.”

He says glimpses of Delhi can be found across his work - in Piku, October, and beyond. “You will get a reflection of Delhi in all my films.”

In an interview, Naveen Kasturia said that when Vicky Donor came out, he would tell people, ‘This is my story,’ because he identified so strongly with Ayushmann’s character as he is also from Lajpat Nagar. 

How did Shoojit Sircar create such a Lajpat Nagar boy? Shoojit Sircar says, "The character of Vicky that we created - he knows jugaad, he knows where to get his things done, but he is clueless about his life. Some kind of jugaad work he will do and he will manage."

And then there’s Ayushmann Khurrana - for whom Vicky Donor was a breakout. He says,“Ayushmann will always be known as Ayushmann for Vicky Donor. I had a very strong feeling about it.”

What stood out, Shoojit Sircar says, was the sensitivity of his performance. “It’s not just the loud Vicky that he played, but it's his delicate performance. Vicky of Vicky Donor is so much Ayushmann than Ayushmann being Ayushmann, I would say."

He remembers Ayushmann once telling him - ‘Dada, that will always be there. I’m also doing a lot of films that seem inspired from Vicky Donor.’

“People have this perception that Delhiites are like Chucha (from Fukrey); they are all loud. But Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye is also Delhi, Vicky Donor is also Delhi,” says Naveen Kasturia, while discussing the image and reputation of the city.

Even if critics felt he doesn’t quite look like a typical Delhi guy, he’ll tell you there is no one format for Dilli ka ladka. In conversation with us, Naveen speaks about his hometown, his popular roles, and how he fell in love with Delhi again.

Naveen grew up in Lajpat Nagar and before moving to Bombay 16 years ago. “Main pura Lajpat Nagar Amar Colony ka product hoon. In fact, when Vicky Donor came out, I’d tell people this is my story. He was from Lajpat Nagar, so am I. Usmein mujhe flaw bhi dikhta tha – woh (Ayushmann’s character) Lajpat se metro leta tha, but people from there use the Moolchand metro station.”

Naveen says he’s always told that he doesn’t look like he is from Delhi. He says, “I did a film called Sulemani Keeda in which two characters are trying to make it big in Bollywood. Uske ek review mein likha tha, ‘Arey ye Dilli ke bane hue hain ladke, ye Dilli ke toh lagte nahi.’ Ab main Dilli ka hoon aur Dilli ke ladke ka role kar raha hoon, I’m playing myself in a way!”

He adds, “Mere liye badi inspiring film thi Khosla Ka Ghosla. Usmein Khosla sahab ke jo do ladke hain Bunty (played by Ranveer Shourie) aur Chiraunjilal (Parvin Dabas) dono alag hain. That film represents Delhi, I feel.”

In the last few years, the actor fell in love with Delhi again. He shares, “I think I was shooting for Aspirants, and I’d shoot in central Delhi early in the morning, around 6 am, and I’d find the city very pretty. Main uss waqt wahan jata tha toh mujhe aisi feeling aati thi ki mujhe desh ke liye kuch karna hai. Main roz uss DM ke kirdar mein ghusta tha, waise kapde pehenta tha. At that time I started thinking about doing a job where I could contribute to the country. Maine ek dost se baat ki aur usne kaha, ‘Iss umr mein tu defence mein ja sakta hai kisi tareeqe se, lekin IAS toh ab tu nahi ban sakta.”

Talking about the roles he gets, he says, “Sometimes I’ve been slotted into the role of a common guy trying to achieve something, but I really want to do roles set in different worlds. Only when people see me in diverse roles and settings will they start thinking of me in different parts. That’s why I was so happy when I got Breathe and Mithya. I did a role in the second season of Mithya because I really liked the character and the world in which it is set. It’s a really complex part. We shot most of the scenes in Darjeeling. Mithya ke baad Rajit Kapur mere favourite co-actor ban gaye hain. Jab aap manjhe huye actor ke saath kaam karte hain, toh kai baar aap woh cheezein kar jaate hain jo aapne sochi bhi nahi hoti hain.”