An innocuous looking clerk by day transforms into a deadly contract killer by night, actually, any time of day... Bengali actor Saswata Chatterjee's iconic assassin Bob Biswas in Kahaani has become larger than the film, and director Sujoy Ghosh isn't complaining.
So much so plans are afoot to take Bob's character to the next level as lead in a television serial. Already, a graphic novel has been dedicated to him.
When contacted, Ghosh sounded both intrigued and worried, "Bob Biswas has most definitely exceeded the popularity of Kahaani. Poor Saswata has lost his identity. He is addressed as Bob wherever he goes."
So is Bob getting a second life? Said Ghosh, "Audiences have adopted Bob. I get suggestions on how to take his character forward from youngsters on the Internet. Bob isn't your suave, gun-toting, cool killer. He is an overweight job holder. We didn't give Bob a family life. But he probably goes back to a family after killing. He probably needs a second income to support his family. That's why he does the killings. I don't know... These are the details that need to be fleshed out. And we're working on it."
While Ghosh isn't too forthcoming, we know a TV serial expanding Bob's life as a working-class assassin is being worked on. Ghosh only says, "The idea is being worked on," pointing out it won't be easy for Bob to relocate from Kolkata to Mumbai.
Meanwhile, Chatterjee says, "The only problem with a TV serial is you never know where it will go. Suppose they decide to make Bob a pathosladen victim of circumstances, who goes home to his ailing mother after the killings, it would be rather sad for the character. I'd like Bob to be taken further only if the content justifies his renewal."
The actor who happens to be the son of noted Bengali actor Subhendu Chatterjee, quickly adds, "I've spent my entire life in Kolkata. My nineyear-old daughter Hiya studies here. My wife Mohua is a teacher. I can't wrench them out of their environment. But I can easily travel between Kolkata and Mumbai."
Incidentally, Hiya, whose friends now regularly badger her for an autograph, hasn't seen Kahaani. "She'd be shocked to see me killing people. I'll show it to her when she's older," concludes 'Bob'.
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