National Award winning director Srijit Mukherji says that his ‘Begum Jaan’ is not the remake of his ‘Rajkahini’ which was released last year and garnered critical acclaim for its thought provoking plot.  

“It is not a remake of Rajkahini. The ideal way of describing ‘Begum Jaan’ is that the Hindi version is loosely based on the Bengali version,” the director said to Tellychakkar.com.

Rajkahini revolves around a brothel located on the India-Bangladesh border at the time of Partition. It featured Rituparna Sengupta enacting the title role of a brothel’s Madame named 'Begum Jaan', which earned her the Best Actress award at the Delhi International Film Festival in 2015.

The Hindi version would be set against the backdrop of India-Pakistan border in Punjab and Vidya Balan would step into the shoes of Begum Jaan. The film would be made with an entirely new cast.

“Since it is set against the backdrop of Punjab so, some of the characters might get changed as per the story’s demand,” he further added.

Produced by Mukesh and Mahesh Bhatt, Begum Jaan kick-starts shooting in August this year and releases in 2017.  

The Baishe Srabon and Jaatishwar director was present at Social Krira, an event held in Kolkata to spread awareness about social media and its utility.

Talking about the role of social media for Bengali film industry, he said, “Social media is the fastest medium to reach audience. This medium is especially important for Bengali film industry as we do not have the financial support like Mumbai when it comes to marketing films. The only way with which we can reach out to audience is through word of mouth via social media.” 

He also mentioned that Facebook, Twitter help him to receive direct reviews from his audiences which help him to know their point of view about his films.

Referring to social media, he opined, “It is my newspaper, my hoarding, and my personal space where I can place my opinion on politics, my films and my personal life. It enables my voice to reach out to my audiences. It creates an interface between them and me. It is indispensable for me.”

“Not crab mentality and personal attack but we always encourage healthy and constructive criticism. The regular feedback and this cycle of continuous interface is very important for us. The reality check is possible via social media. And not only the film industry, gradually others would also realize that digital is the future,” he signed off. 

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