Bengali actor-producer Arindam Sil, whose company is handling the regional production of Hollywood film Deity — the remake of Bollywood blockbuster Kahaani — on Saturday thanked West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for extending help for the shooting in Kolkata.
The remake will be directed by Niels Arden Oplev of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fame, while Jose Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries) and Richard Regen (Tehran) have scripted the adaptation.
Starring Vidya Balan in the lead role, Kahaani was directed by Sujoy Ghosh and had Sil as its executive producer. The film was largely shot on the streets of Kolkata.
Deity is a thriller about an American woman who goes to Kolkata in search of her missing husband. As she gets closer to the truth, she finds herself at the centre of a dangerous conspiracy. The story unfolds in the context of a colourful, week-long festival.
Sil said Kolkata will be captured in a different perspective in the remake. “This is a proud moment for Kolkata and we are crossing all borders to become an international hub of film making, which of course it already was.
“I am grateful to Mamata Banerjee, who has extended all help for the making of this film in Kolkata. Need the support of all Kolkatans,” Sil said in a Facebook post on Friday.
“The way we look at Kolkata is different from the way it is perceived by outsiders. Therefore, the Hollywood version will show us a different side to the city,” he added.
The movie will be financed and produced by YRF Entertainment, and starts production in February 2015. It will be shot at different locations in Kolkata.
Sil’s production company Nothing Beyond Cinema is in charge of the Kolkata leg of shooting.
