Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; April 12, 2016)

About eight months ago, Sujoy Ghosh was on the hunt for an actress to do his film Durga Rani Singh. But after the celebrated patch-up with Vidya Balan, things were back on track and his original choice (Vidya) was signed on again for Durga Rani Singh. There was no script for Kahaani 2 then.

Now, Kahaani 2 has already gone on floors in Kalimpong, a small region in West Bengal. What happened to Durga Rani Singh then? A source from the team reveals, “Sujoy had an intriguing script of a thriller ready. That was Durga Rani Singh and it revolved around the character of one woman and her tryst with danger. Given that Sujoy and Vidya weren’t on talking terms, Kahaani 2 was on the back-burner. Sujoy never wanted to make a sequel without his favourite lady as he felt it wouldn’t justify the franchise.”

But things slowly fell in place for the director and the actress. “After Sujoy met Vidya and sorted out their differences, they discussed both the films. While the script of Durga Rani Singh was ready, there was nothing in place for Kahaani 2 except an idea. It was then that Sujoy sat with his team and tweaked the story of Durga Rani Singh and made it into Kahaani 2. Since both are in the thriller space, it wasn’t too difficult,” added the source.

So Kahaani 2 is indeed a modified version of the Durga Rani Singh script and will be loaded with the thrills and suspense that a franchise like Kahaani boasts of. This also means that there won’t be a Durga Rani Singh with anyone anymore. Unless Sujoy and his team write a fresh script, suiting the genre.