The intimation of death signals the beginning of a new life in the here and now for Arjun Sen, the voluble and showy adman-protagonist of Shoojit Sircar’s I Want to Talk. It inevitably causes confusion and agony but strengthens his resolve to fight while altering his perspective on existence and mortality. Written by Ritesh Shah and based on a real-life Indian-American professional, Arjun produces adverts to encourage people to buy products they might or might not need. His joys rest on the sterling success he has in pulling off his acts of persuasion.

Shoojit Sircar’s recent film work has been preoccupied with mortality. Shiuli’s freak accident and subsequent state determine the course of October (2018). Gulabo Sitabo (2020) is a comic look at death, with an ageing man hoping for the demise of his even older wife. And Sardar Udham is death-haunted, not just the historical fact of the protagonist’s execution but the guiding hand of the ghosts of Jallianwala Bagh.

“Will you dance at my wedding?”, a young Reya (Pearle Dey) asks her visibly-ill father, Arjun (Abhishek Bachchan), sitting in their backyard. Arjun used to be a high-flying, pragmatic, proud ad executive in Los Angeles, till one day he was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer. It’s a loaded question – especially for a still-squeaky voice. The initial prognosis gave Arjun 100 days to live. But he’s somehow lived his way through a few months, maybe even a year. While he awaits future surgeries, many things hang in the balance for Arjun, preventing him from giving Reya an answer. The scene ends with the father-daughter’s heavy silence, staring into a distance.

In denial initially, this traumatic health crisis, numbs the pain of everything else in comparison including a broken marriage and financial downfall. What follows is countless hospital visits and an unpredictable future which tests the relationship Arjun shares with his daughter Reya.

When an Abhishek Bachchan starrer comes along, you’re assured that there will be something different and something endearing on offer. Whether it works or not. With a repertoire that includes Vicky Donor and Piku, director Shoojit Sircar also stands for cinema with a difference. Again, whether it works or not. The qualities associated with Bachchan and Sircar combine to tell the real-life tale of an unknown Arjun Sen, inspirational in its own way. Arjun’s days are numbered, say the docs. His surgeries can no longer be counted on his fingers. He’s lost his roof to wife in a divorce settlement, his job to laryngeal cancer. His legendary arrogance has been whittled down, he’s become a statistic. One of those that sum up your chances of survival as bleak. He almost drives his Cadillac off the cliff, one evening.

Someone who loves exploring the intricate relationship between bodily functions and life’s larger purpose, after Piku and October, director Shoojit Sircar turns to a real-life cancer survivor to tell a middling tale of resilience and reform. A hot-shot marketing man, Arjun Sen’s (Abhishek Bachchan) career comes to a sudden halt when he is diagnosed with multiple malignancies. After initial bouts of denial, he doesn’t surrender to fate, refuses to become a statistic, and enlists himself in a long-drawn battle with the disease. Soon, we discover his relationships are not in the best of health either. At work, he is a cut-throat. At home, he is divorced and has a daughter (Pearle Dey/Ahilya Bamroo) to raise who suspects him of indulging in some sort of drama to evoke empathy. In the hospital, he comes up with diagrams and googled information lest his doctor (Jayant Kriplani) take him for a ride.

For a man who has delivered the simplest of the stories in the most heartwarming films, Shoojit Sircar falters a bit with his latest I Want To Talk. The film, based on a real person, talks of a man’s relentless pursuit to live despite the medical challenges that life keeps throwing at him. The film highlights the journey of Arjun Sen (Abhishek Bachchan) through years of medical misfortunes and surgeries and his constant ability to fight back. It also highlights his evolving relationship with his daughter over a few years. I Want To Talk deals with loneliness, illness and impending death - themes that Sircar has deftly handled before in films like October and Piku. But unlike the previous films, Sircar’s latest doesn’t leave a defining impact - despite Abhishek Bachchan delivering one of his finest performances in recent years.