Vidya Balan was filmmaker Srijit Mukherji’s first choice for Rajkahini. Yes, you heard that right! The National Award-winning filmmaker, who is adapting his own Bengali film in Hindi, with Vidya in the lead, admits that Rajkahini was originally meant to be a bilingual and he was looking forward to casting Vidya as the lead in both versions.
Rajkahini, which released in Kolkata during Durga Puja in 2015, had actress Rituparna Sengupta in the lead.
“Originally, Rajkahini was written to be a bilingual and I was supposed to cast Vidya Balan to play the role in both the films. Only after I didn’t get her dates and things didn’t work out, I thought of doing the Bengali film and approached Rituparna ( Sengupta, who played the protagonist, a fierce madam of a brothel) . If you watch Rajkahini you will notice that the character of Begum Jaan has a north Indian flavour. Also, Rituparna’s Bengali was broken, because initially I wanted to make a bilingual film, ” says Mukherji, who is shooting for his debut Bollywood film in Patjor, a village in Jharkhand.
Mukherji is all praise for Vidya. “There’s something about Vidya’s face, voice and body language. Frankly, if you think of such powerful roles, you can only think of Vidya or Rani Mukherji. Vidya was my first choice. I can’t think of other actors who can pull off this character, ” he says.
Vidya, who is known as a powerhouse performer, has already watched the Bengali film even before she was approached to play the lead in the Hindi version. “I watched Rajkahini. It is a powerful film. My role personifies feminine power in various aspects whether its sensuality, female wroth or compassion, ” says the Kahaani actress.