Director Sujoy Ghosh has confirmed that he is reuniting with Vidya Balan for the sequel of his 2012 mystery Kahaani.
“Yes, Kahaani 2 is happening. It is in the pre-production stage. Vidya Balan will star in the film. Major parts of the film will be shot in Kolkata,” Ghosh said.
Ghosh has produced Balan’s upcoming film T3EN, directed by Ribhu Dasgupta. The film also stars Amitabh Bachchan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
During a discussion at the Byomkesh Through The Ages panel at the 40th International Kolkata Book Fair on February 7, the director spoke about the fictional character of Byomkesh Bakshi, detective created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.
“I still like Byomkesh novels at a personal level but I am not [very] sure from the director’s point of view. I am not sure if it will be liked by the film audiences of today,” said Ghosh, who played the role Byomkesh Bakshi in Satyanweshi.
He said he took up the challenge only at the behest of the film’s late director, Rituparno Ghosh.
“Ritu da had ordered me one day that ‘you have to do the lead role in my Satyanweshi’. It was not possible for me to say no to Rituparno Ghosh. It was an altogether good experience. Except Byomkesh and his assistant Ajit, all other characters were created by Ritu da.”
On the issue of literary works from Bengal having been adapted in many films, Ghosh said, “We have a veritable gold mine of literature. And I am proud of that.”
The director said he loves coming to book fairs. “There is a certain vibe of positivity in Kolkata. I feel that buzz again in Kolkata Book Fair where I have come after many years. This reminds me of childhood days when the [book] fair took place at the Maidan,” Ghosh added.
