Says Sujoy, "Bob Biswas has most definitely exceeded the popularity of Kahaani. Poor Saswata has lost his identity. He is addressed as Bob wherever he goes. I had gone to see his latest Bengali film Abar Bomkesh in Kolkata. Rather than address him by the name of his character people in the audience screamed ‘Bob' as soon as he came on. "
Sujoy is a bit worried and intrigued by the assassin's popularity. "Bob's character is on screen for barely 5-7 minutes. But audiences have adopted him.
I get suggestions on how to take Bob's character forward from youngsters on the net. There's a Bob Fan Club in Kolkata that is constantly churning out ideas. I think people like his ordinariness.
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 from Bob Biswas' life that need to be fleshed out. And we're working on it. "
Though Sujoy clams up on the details of Bob Biswas's life ahead on screen we know for a fact that a television serial expanding Bob Biswas's life as a working-class assassin is now being worked on.
Says Sujoy, "The idea is being worked on. But it isn't easy. Bob would have to relocate himself from Kolkala to Mumbai . That uprooting may not be easy for him since he has lived in Kolkata all his life. That's where his roots, family and career are. "
When one spoke to Saswata Chatterjee in Kolkata he had reservations about his character being taken forward .
Says Saswata, "The only problem with a television serial is, you never know where it would go. Suppose tomorrow they decide to make Bob into this pathos-laden 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 material justifies his renewal. "
Saswata whose father Subhendu Chatterjee was a distinguished actor says he can shuttle between Kolkata and Mumbai if the need arises.
"I've my entire life in Kolkata. My 9-year 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 Saswata for an autograph, has not seen Kahaani. "She has a very different image of her father. She'dbe shocked to see me killing people. I'll show it to her when she's older.
In fact I am yet to go and see Kahaani after its success in a public theatre . I've been too busy shooting for three Bengali films. "
