Following the success of The Storyteller, an adaptation of Satyajit Ray’s short story Golpo Boliye Tarini Khuro, director Ananth Mahadevan is keen on adapting more Tarini Khuro stories featuring Paresh Rawal, he said on Monday.

During a free-wheeling chat with The Telegraph Online, Mahadevan said, “Seeing the adulation that The Storyteller has received, I feel it is purely the genius of Ray and his original story. Paresh Rawal is very keen on playing Tarini Khuro again.”

“I’m going through other stories featuring the character to zero in on one which would serve as a good companion piece. It won’t be a sequel. It will be a different story but the character will be the same and I'm really keen on doing this,” added the 64-year-old actor-director.

Mahadevan initially envisioned The Storyteller as a tribute to Ray on his centenary year but it eventually evolved into a personal passion project. The film’s warm reception has rekindled his belief that cinema can be gripping without relying “on sensationalism”.

“I’m glad that people are realising that cinema doesn’t have to be loud, gory or vulgar. Our tribute to Ray has turned out the way we wanted it to,” said Mahadevan.

The Storyteller follows Tarini Bandyopadhyay (Paresh Rawal), a restless socialist with a history of working at 75 different jobs. He finds himself at an unusual crossroads when he answers a peculiar job listing from Ratan Garodia (Adil Hussain), a wealthy businessman struggling with insomnia. Hired to narrate original bedtime stories to help him fall asleep, Tarini soon discovers that Garodia has ulterior motives.

Mahadevan said he is drawn to Kolkata’s rich literary and cinematic heritage. “Kolkata has produced great literature, whether it’s Tagore, Sarat Chandra or others. I was interested in adapting Devi Chowdhurani, but I think someone else has already done it,” he said, adding that he continues to explore the literature and culture of Kolkata because the city itself is a “character”.

For his next project, Mahadevan hopes to fully immerse himself in Bengali culture. “If I adapt another Tarini Khuro story, I want to shoot it entirely in Kolkata unlike The Storyteller which shifted from Kolkata to Ahmedabad. The city hypnotises and fascinates me — every colour, every brick, every corner tells a story.”

“In The Storyteller, we included Durga Puja elements, and I was lucky to get the one-thousand-and-one idol display which was showcased for the last time in the year we shot the film. But this time, I want to showcase more aspects of Kolkata,” said Mahadevan.

Mahadevan also acknowledges the city’s legacy of iconic filmmakers. “Some of the greats have come from Kolkata — Ray, Mrinal Sen and Tapan Sinha. My inspirations have always been either from my homeland, Kerala — home to legends like Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Aravindan — or Kolkata, both of which have influenced my cinematic vision,” he signed off.