Abhishek Bachchan Talks About Replacing Saswata Chatterjee In 'Bob Biswas'

Abhishek Bachchan's next theatrical release is based on the contract assassin 'Bob Biswas', who was first seen in Vidya Balan's 'Kahaani.' The role was earlier essayed by Actor Saswata Chatterjee. In a recent interview, Bachchan talked about replacing Chatterjee in the film and explained why people should hold their judgement until they see 'Bob Biswas.'

In an interview with BollywoodLife, Abhishek Bachchan finally talked about replacing Saswata Chatterjee in 'Bob Biswas,' the spinoff of Vidya Balan's highly successful thriller, 'Kahaani.' Opening up on why people should hold their judgement until they've seen 'Bob Biswas,' Bachchan said, “Before discussing the topic and passing judgments, why not see the movie first, then decide. If the movie hasn't been made well, then 10,000 such allegations are justified and we will have to accept it. You, see the film, then decide.”

Elaborating on the essential aspect of commerce and art while creating a film, the actor added, “Having said that, we also have to understand, this is commercial art. There are financial decisions that we're making, you have to find that balance between commerce and art – that could be in casting, production, or mounting, right? That debate will go on forever, the point is we forget one very small aspect – choice, it's her choice (pointing to Diya Annapurna Ghosh, the Director, who was also a part of the interview). She was very clear that this is a new world she wants, so we forget that.”

He continued, “Sujoy (Sujoy Ghosh) made a movie called 'Kahaani,' which had a character called 'Bob Biswas,' which was played brilliant by Saswata (Saswata Chatterjee). It's so brilliant because even after 10 years, that 8-minute role is being talked about. We're not trying to replace him, improve on what he did or ruin his work. We've made another story. Many years ago, Sujoy had spoken to me about a contract killer and policeman and I want you to play the contract killer. But, I had to shoot for 'Bol Bachchan' in 2-3 months and couldn't do it. So, he said that he'll make another movie and he made Kahaani and that contract killer was 'Bob Biswas.' Now, I didn't know that, he told me much later that he had approached me for that role. That's okay, I think he made a great film with 'Kahaani.' But that was the film he wanted to make.”

Describing how and why this film needs to be seen from a totally different prospect, Abhishek Bachchan said, “When he wrote this film, he was very clear that he needed a re-interpretation of this part and he gave to Diya to make. Now, she brings her interpretation to it. You have to allow a person to have the freedom of choice of their own creativity. And she saw Bob in me. We're still talking about Saswata's work because he already immortalised it. All we're saying is see this Bob from a fresh perspective.”

'Bob Biswas' is produced by Gauri Khan, Sujoy Ghosh, and Gaurav Verma. It is directed by Diya Annapurna Ghosh and written by Sujoy Ghosh. The film will premiere on Zee5 on December 3rd.

The actor will also appear in other projects such as 'Dasvi' and 'Breathe Season 3' in addition to 'Bob Biswas'.