Renowned Bengali actor Saswata Chatterjee effortlessly pulled off the role of a contract killer named Bob Biswas in Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani (2012). Though a brief role, Saswata left a lasting impression on the audience who demanded an elaborate feature film on the character. Now, 9 years later, Sujoy's daughter Diya Annapurna Ghosh directed a film revolving around Bob. Saswata was replaced by Abhishek Bachchan in the spin-off film which premiere on ZEE5 on December 3.

Fans of Saswata were disappointed that the actor wasn't roped in to play the titular role in Bob Biswas. However, Saswata is not bothered. In an interview with a leading daily, the Bengali actor reacted to being replaced by a 'bigger name'. "Why should I be disappointed? They are making it for the Hindi market; they will look for a bigger name. I did the film in 2012, why will I be bothered about it being made in 2021? I did several characters in between. If I was upset I would have come out and given so many statements. (But) I didn’t bother," Saswata told. 

Recommended Read: Sujoy Ghosh reveals why Abhishek Bachchan was cast as 'Bob Biswas' instead of Saswata Chatterjee, calls it a 'conscious decision'

He further said he is proud that Bob Biswas was made, that too with someone like Abhishek. "I was proud of myself because I just did a role for 10 minutes. If a full-length feature film is happening with someone whose name is Abhishek Bachchan, then I’m indeed proud," he added. 

Saswata said the makers didn't reach out to him for Bob Biswas. "They didn’t reach out. When a character is played by two different people it should be played in two different ways. Say, James Bond. Every actor has played it differently and we should accept that. Bob has become a franchise like James Bond. So you should go to a movie hall with an open mind," he shared. 

Bob Biswas was produced by Sujoy. It also starred Paran Bandopadhyay, Chitrangda Singh, Tina Desai, Samara Tijori and Ronith Arora. 

(Source: Hindustan Times)