Looking Forward

It has been 20 years since Aditya Bhattacharya made his debut film Raakh. Even as the critically acclaimed Aamir Khan-starrer is getting ready for a re-release across India in June,the filmmaker is planning a sequel. Back from Los Angeles,where he was scouting for locations and technicians,the 45-year-old is brimming with enthusiasm.

“The original was what it was because it was my first movie. It had the rawness and innocence of first-timers and probably that worked for the film. But today,I’d make the film differently,” says Bhattacharya,who made Raakh,which won a slew of National Awards,at the age of 25. After that he moved to Italy in the early ‘90s and directed a cross-cultural Italian love story Sense Unico.

Bhattacharya says the sequel will be shot in the US. “I have yet to finalise the cast but I can tell you that I will not bring back anyone from the old cast,” he says. Looking at the filmmaker’s genes, he is Bimal Roy’s grandson and Basu Bhattacharya’s son and his career graph includes offbeat films like Black Friday and Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi,movies that met with somewhat similar fate. This might just turn out to that elusive great sequel to watch out for.