Why did you decide to remake Bhooter Bhobishyot into Gang of Ghosts?

Ratan Jain of Venus and I were discussing a few scripts. He gave me a DVD of Bhooter Bhobishyot and asked me to watch it. Bengali films have really not been remade recently… earlier there were bilinguals like Aradhana and Devdas. The DVD was lying with me for a day or two and when I finally saw it, I really liked it. I felt it was really up my alley because I wrote the dialogues and also acted in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) and I feel that Bhooter Bhobishyot is in the league of that film. I told Ratanji that I would adapt it but it would have to be reworked according to the sensibilities of the pan-Indian market even while keeping the sanctity of the original intact. He bought the rights from the producer and I started working on the script and dialogues. The film’s turned out great and I am sure even those who liked Bhooter Bhobishyot will like my film. But they should come in with an open mind knowing that some changes had to be done.

How challenging was it to adapt Bhooter Bhobishyot because its essence and tone is very Bengali?

It was very tough. I had a tough time to adapt that scene where East Bengalis and West Bengalis fight over hilsa and prawn because my film is not set in Calcutta, but in Mumbai’s Lower Parel. Also, the ghosts in my film inhabit an abandoned mill. Bombay still has a lot of mills that were around even in the 1930s and there are rumours of some of them being haunted. The hilsa vs prawn argument has been changed into a fight between Bengali food and Bombay food. The character that Saurabh Shukla plays is a Bengali and he’s constantly ridiculing the other ghosts about their vada pav and sev puri while they hit back at his maachher jhol. I have added some nice dialogues and made the film more compact.

Is there anything in the Bengali original that you wanted to retain, but couldn’t?

The whole angle of Naxalism is something that I liked but couldn’t retain it because such political overtones wouldn’t resonate with the north Indian audiences. Also, some of the Bengali jokes were hilarious, but I couldn’t put them into my film because the context and humour would have been lost. I have a lot of experience with remakes… so many of my films like Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain, Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai, Tere Naam… have been superhit remakes. I know how to retain the artistic elements of the original and yet bring my own touch to it.

One major takeaway from the promo is too many double-meaning dialogues…

But that was there in Bhooter Bhobishyot also! That joke about ‘phuto’ was really quite something! (Laughs) And the dialogue I really loved is the one in which the East Bengali tells his driver to take the thing out from between his legs! (Laughs out loud) I have retained that dialogue in the promo of Gang of Ghosts, but I am not sure whether the censor board will pass it.

The only actor you have retained from the original is Parambrata Chattopadhyay…

I like Param as an actor. I thought that the role of an ad filmmaker would suit him. The character he plays here is the same as Bhooter Bhobishyot, but we have made him a little more aggressive. Also, having him on board was an advantage for me because he’s worked in both films and before making any changes, I would constantly keep asking him if I was doing the right thing. He would keep telling me: ‘Sir, you are making fantastic changes’.

I also narrated the script to Mithunda (Chakraborty) because I wanted him to play the role of the landlord Gendamal (Darpa Narayan, played by Paran Bandopadhyay in Bhooter Bhobishyot) but he had date problems (Anupam Kher has played the role). But even when Mithunda heard the script he told me: ‘My god, you’ve made a fantastic version!’

Have you retained all the characters?

Yes, all of them, in fact. I have just changed Sabyasachi’s (Chakrabarty) character that is played by Sharman Joshi here and made him much younger.

Bhooter Bhobishyot maker Anik Datta hit out at Gang of Ghosts a few days ago…

What he did was in bad taste. He shouldn’t have made derogatory remarks against me and the film. It wasn’t done in the right spirit. What is his experience in comparison to mine? I have been associated with classics like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and Mr. India. He used some words that he shouldn’t have… it was very irresponsible of him. I have more or less taken the decision to sue him and I am consulting with some legal experts.

I’m very proud of this film… it’s one of my best. But the soul of the film belongs to Bhooter Bhobishyot. I assure every Bengali that they will love this version that’s equally funny. Whatever’s been changed, you will appreciate it.

He (Anik Datta) shouldn’t have made derogatory remarks against me and the film. It wasn’t done in the right spirit. What is his experience in comparison to mine? I have been associated with classics like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and Mr. India.... it was very irresponsible of him. I have more or less taken the decision to sue him and I am consulting with some legal experts

— Satish Kaushik

Anik Datta’s 2012 game-changer Bhooter Bhobishyot gets its Bolly remake in Gang of Ghosts, releasing March 21. A t2 chat with its director Satish Kaushik. This is absurd and amusingIt has been brought to my notice that Mr Satish Kaushik has reacted adversely to an article in a Mumbai-based publication, which had published my views on the promo of his film, Gang of Ghosts. Firstly, I would like to put on record that in some parts of that report I have been misrepresented or misquoted. Secondly, I, like any other viewer of the trailer, that has been put up in the public domain, am entitled to my opinion on the same. More so, because this film is supposedly a Hindi remake of my first film Bhooter Bhobishyot that was written and directed by me.

I therefore find Mr Kaushik’s intolerant reaction rather absurd and amusing.

Priyanka Roy
Will you watch Gang of Ghosts? Tell t2@abp.in