Where’s Sujoy Ghosh? After a quick courtesy call on Sanjay Dutt (who had acted in his Alladin), Sujoy hasn’t been spotted around the beleaguered actor. The reason is simple enough: Sujoy is prepping for his new film in the City of Joy. So has his sequel Kahaani 2 started?

There’s a bit of a mix-up here. Kahaani 2 will be made, the script is in place. Sujoy says, “It’s on track.” But even before he could get Kahaani 2 off the ground, something else has cropped up to fill in “the in-between time.” Sujoy is fully immersed in another film — this time as an actor! Yes, Sujoy has been in Calcutta for over a week prepping for an important part he will be playing in Rituparno Ghosh’s new Bengali film.

Excited, Sujoy? “Excited and completely petrified,” he says very seriously. But it’s so wonderful to get an opportunity to keep trying something new. And Sujoy, who kicked a job with Reuters to make Jhankaar Beats, his first Hindi film, has been particularly lucky that he could successfully slip into a second profession like filmmaking. With Rituparno’s offer to act in his film, it’s yet another opportunity to do something different. Although petrified, Sujoy has characteristically agreed to go down a new road.

“It’s a great opportunity,” he accepts, “but also a huge responsibility.” Considering he has prised some great performances out of his actors (Vidya Balan has picked up every trophy in town for her work in Kahaani), surely acting should be familiar territory? “We’d like to think that,” Ghosh replies. “But you get to know how difficult it is only once you go to that side of the table.” He adds that for him, “Everything is difficult.”

When Rituparno made him the offer, Sujoy was “incredibly surprised”. He thought it would be one of those fleeting appearances and not “committed acting”. And he reeled back in shock when he realised that Ritu wanted him to play a full-fledged character. Well, Sujoy had done the same to Karan Johar when he had asked him to do a role in Home Delivery a few years ago. “Yeah, I guess it’s payback time now,” Sujoy dryly remarks.

What has it been like so far? For one, they haven’t actually started filming. A week has gone by getting things in place. “And over the weekend we’ll be travelling and then we start shooting.” The film won’t be shot in Calcutta but in northern Bengal. “Acting is a really scary thought,” says Sujoy. But of course he’s all geared for it. As he says, “People rarely get such opportunities in life. I believe that if you get an opportunity you’ve got to run with it.”

Sujoy will be running with it the next few weeks, quite relishing doing something he’s never done before. “Right now I’m trying to absorb it all.” There is another icing on the cake. Most times Sujoy likes his casual shorts and plain T. This time he actually gets to wear some classic Bengali wear. “Yes,” he laughs for the first time in the five-minute chat. “Since it’s a period film, I get to wear some traditional Bengali dhoti-kurtas. And I’m really looking forward to that!” And we’re looking forward to this new kahaani in Sujoy’s life.

Meanwhile, in Mumbai, every celebrity offspring is sized up for a possible career in acting. Now that acting is no longer taboo for girls even from the most conservative of film families (i.e., Shatrughan Sinha), filmmakers scan every PYT with acting lineage to offer her a film. Dharam and Hema’s second daughter Ahana hasn’t been lucky in bagging the right debut film although it’s not for the lack of trying. Kamal Haasan and Sarika’s second daughter Akshara is standing in the wings and will soon take off. A lot of unconfirmed names, including that of R. Balki (the Cheeni Kum, Paa maker), have been going around as the ones who’re eyeing light-eyed and pretty Akshara.

And now it transpires that Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan’s daughter Alia Bhatt was not the first choice for Karan Johar’s Student Of The Year. It was Jackie Shroff and Ayesha’s attractive daughter Krishna who had caught Karan’s eye. But Krishna is currently in Dubai learning filmmaking. She graduates this June. Keen to turn director and not an actor (at least at this moment), Krishna spiritedly told KJo that she wasn’t ready to act in his film but she’d gladly assist him any time.

So, after her graduation, Krishna Shroff will be another celebrity kid who will be spotted in the studios behind the camera. Until she changes her mind and goes before it.

Bharathi S. Pradhan is editor, The Film Street Journal