Srijit Mukherjee's Bangla epic Rajkahini which swept the box office and all the critical acclaim last year, is going to Punjab. And Vidya Balan is taking it there.
Mukherjee who wrote and directed Rajkahini is now all set to remake the film in Hindi for producers Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt. The film would be made with an entirely new cast, with Vidya Balan replacing Rituparno Ghosh in the central part of brothel's Madame.
All the other 11 sex workers would also be played by actresses who do not feature in the Bangla version. And there is a very good reason for this. Explains Srijit Mukherjee, "We are re-locating the plot of Rajkahini, titled Begum Jaan in Hindi, to the Punjab border. Rajkahini was located at the Bengal border where the after-effects of Partition where felt much less strongly than in Punjab. We're taking the story to a new level, and to a different scale of expression."
Srijit feels Vidya would be most effective as a Punjabi woman. "She has the right look and diction for it. As for Rituparna, I've already spoken to her about the casting. She is very happy that I'm doing the film in Hindi. Not just Rituparna, but the entire cast is being changed. There may not be that many characters in Begum Jaan as there were in Rajkahini."
The Hindi version is being co-scripted by Srijit and Kausar Munir.
Srijit has already moved bag and baggage from Kolkata to Mumbai. The Bhatts have put him up in a residence. Begum Jaan will begin shooting in August 2016 and release in early 2017.
More Pages: Begum Jaan Box Office Collection , Begum Jaan Movie Review
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