Casting process on for remake of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Bawarchi; filmmaker Anushree Mehta shares details

Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Bawarchi was released in 1972.

Anushree Mehta’s love for cinema is evident in the way she talks about the movies. The director of last year’s spy-comedy Mrs Undercover starring Radhika Apte in the lead, Mehta is also one of the few women in the Hindi film industry who is also a writer and producer. Now, Mehta has come on board to write and direct the remake of the 1972 classic Bawarchi which was directed by veteran filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

In fact, her production company Jaadugar Films and Sameer Raj Sippy Productions are also producing two other remakes – Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Mili (1975) and Gulzar’s Koshish (1972). Co-incidentally, all three films have Jaya Bachchan in the lead.

Filmmaker Anushree Mehta.

Mehta, who started her journey as a television writer along with her partner Abir Sengupta, is excited about the task on hand. Well-aware of the responsibility on their shoulders, the filmmaker says that the decision to produce the remakes of these three films came out of a discussion with Sengupta and Sippy. “All three of us are passionate about cinema. Abir and I are great fans of Hrishi da. We have learnt so much from his films. We didn’t go to film school; we went to the movies to learn. Collectively, we came up with the idea of remaking these three iconic films that we love and are passionate about,” she recalls.

Mehta is of the opinion that as filmmakers, their work would be judged and scrutinised irrespective of it being an original or a remake. “These stories are timeless and can be retold in a new way. Why should we deprive this generation of stories that we have grown up watching?” she says, adding that they are very excited about the process of finding ways to mould these stories for the new generation.

As for Bawarchi, which itself was a remake of the 1966 Bengali film Golpo Holeo Shotti, Mehta shares that she has reached a draft which she is happy with. Now, the question remains, who does one cast to step into the role of superstar Rakesh Khanna? “I think the answer is, I am looking for magic. We are not trying to replicate the Rajesh Khanna magic but trying to create new magic. I need someone who can do justice to all facets of the film,” she states, adding that every film has its destiny and time will tell who is cast in the film. For now, it is the magic of the movies that is driving her every decision.