Mumbai, May 23 (IANS): Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar, who has garnered plaudits for his latest box office offering “Piku”, says he always had Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan Khan in mind for the film, while Deepika Padukone popped up in his mind once he finished the script.

"We had already decided on Irrfan and Amitabh while writing the script. Their characters were written keeping them in mind. Deepika (Padukone) happened post the script was written," said Sircar, while interacting with film enthusiasts at Poetic License' latest workshop held at the Irani Cafe, Excelsior here.

Sircar went on to add that “Deepika got the character bang on. I had asked her to watch Konkona Sen Sharma's films.”

The “Vicky Donor” fame director shared the inside world of “Piku” at an interactive session, which was moderated by “The Lunchbox” director Ritesh Batra.

"Piku" paints a father-daughter relationship via a journey from Delhi to Kolkata in a car through the scenic and holy city of Varanasi. There is humour, drama and love interwoven in an endearing and relatable tale.

The things that clicked with the audience is Amitabh and Deepika's cute arguments filled with love and care; and Deepika's subdued and subtle camaraderie with Irrfan.