Actor Saswata Chatterjee, who is still known for his performance as mild-mannered assassin Bob Biswas in Sujoy Ghosh’s 2012 film Kahaani, says he’s not “bothered” about Abhishek Bachchan replacing him as the contract-killer in a standalone titled Bob Biswas. The renowned Bengali actor, in an interview with Hindustan Times, shared that he is not “upset” about Abhishek Bachchan replacing him in the film. He told the publication: “Why should I be disappointed? They are making it for the Hindi market; they will look for a bigger name. I did the film in 2012, why will I be bothered about it being made in 2021? I did several characters in between. If I was upset, I would have come out and given so many statements… I didn’t bother.” Saswata Chatterjee has not watched Bob Biswas yet.
The Diya Annapurna Ghosh-directed film, which released earlier this month, is a standalone spin-off on Bob Biswas, a serial killer originally introduced in her father Sujoy Ghosh’s 2012 film that was headlined by Vidya Balan.
Talking to Hindustan Times, Saswata Chatterjee said he “thought Bob met with an accident and was dead” – which was Bob Biswas’ fate in Kahaani. The actor also said that he is “proud” that his performance made the character so “iconic” that a star like Abhishek Bachchan agreed to portray the role. “I was proud of myself because I just did a role for 10 minutes. If a full-length feature film is happening with someone whose name is Abhishek Bachchan, then I’m indeed proud,” he said.
Saswata Chatterjee, known for his work in films like Abar Shobor, Bhooter Bhobishyot and Goynar Baksho, also revealed that neither Abhishek Bachchan nor Sujoy Ghosh “reached out” to him before and during the filming of Bob Biswas. He told the publication: “When a character is played by two different people it should be played in two different ways. Say, James Bond. Every actor has played it differently and we should accept that. Bob has become a franchise like James Bond” and added that people should go to theatres to watch Bob Biswas “with an open mind.”
Earlier this month, Abhishek Bachchan described Saswata Chatterjee’s performance as Bob Biswas in Kahaani as “brilliant” and hoped that the senior actor would like his “interpretation” of the character in the new film. Abhishek had told “Saswata ji is just brilliant. So many years later we are talking about his eight-minute part is just a testimony of his wonderful talent. I hope he sees my Bob and enjoys my interpretation of it.”
Abhishek Bachchan had also told that Sujoy Ghosh offered him the role of Bob Biswas in Kahaani but he was committed to Bol Bachchan at that time.
Bob Biswas, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Chitrangda Singh along with Bengali stars Paran Bandopadhyay and Ditipriya Roy, premiered on Zee5 on December 3.
