“I Wrote That Script Because I Had Nothing Else to Write”: Sujoy Ghosh on How Kahaani
Happened, the Making of Badla and His Love for Doomed Love Stories at IFP Season 16
Day 2 of IFP Season 16 continues on October 25 at Mehboob Studios, Mumbai, bringing together compelling voices from across cinema, culture, and creativity. Among the key sessions, filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh joined film critic and journalist Mayank Shekhar for Subverting Expectations in Cinema, a conversation exploring the craft of storytelling, the art of keeping audiences guessing and the creative choices behind some of his most memorable films. From recounting how Kahaani came to life to reflecting on the challenges of adapting Badla and his enduring fascination with doomed love stories, Sujoy offered insights into the instincts, influences and unexpected turns that shape his filmmaking.
Recalling how Kahaani came together after a string of box-office disappointments, Sujoy shared, “I had just come out from the world’s largest flop. And then I wanted to do something which I really believed in, which was about this woman coming to Kolkata looking for her husband. And the second, and probably the even bigger reason, was to work with Vidya. There is something about her which was truly amazing. I wrote that script because I had nothing else to write. And we went to Kolkata because I knew Kolkata very well. Toh yeh sab mila ke it… it happened. I honestly don’t have an extremely intelligent answer as to how it happened, but it happened.
Speaking about how filmmakers learn from the masters, Sujoy revealed that a pivotal moment in Kahaani—when Rana takes off his hat, signalling to Vidya Bagchi that her husband is dead—was inspired by a scene in Satyajit Ray’s Nayak. He explained how he draws on visual storytelling techniques from films he admires: “And comes Uttam Kumar, walks, he just takes the bottle, opens, and gives it to the boy. And the boy is like, ‘Hero!’ So, I think this is what you learn from the masters. Like when you watch Deewaar, and you see, Nirupa Roy coming, and Shashi Kapoor is standing there, and Nirupa Roy is expecting Shashi Kapoor to tell her where her husband is, all he does, he takes off his hat. And you know her husband is dead. And I used that in Kahaani also. She comes down, and Rana just takes off his hat, and she knows my husband is dead.”
On adapting Badla from the Spanish film Contratiempo, also known as The Invisible Guest, Sujoy said he deliberately chose not to alter the original screenplay. He recalled the challenge of remaking a film whose twist was already known to many viewers: “My only condition for doing that film was I will not change anything in this film. I will adapt it for an Indian audience. He added, “It’s a goldmine! I mean, why would I fall in love with this girl and marry that girl? You know? That was my condition. Because I didn’t know how to better that.”
Talking about Jaane Jaan, adapted from Keigo Higashino’s The Devotion of Suspect X, Sujoy revealed that what stayed with him most while reading the book was not its celebrated mystery, but the love story beneath it. Calling himself a sucker for doomed romances, he spoke about how that emotional thread runs through his films: “I just saw this pure, unadulterated love for one person, for another woman, and I’m a sucker for doomed love stories. My favourite love story in this history of love stories is King Kong. You know, that’s the biggest doomed love story ever. And I have it in every film of mine. Like even if you see, Rana and Vidya Bagchi is a story of King Kong because they can never get together. Jaane Jaan again is King Kong. Jaideep can never get together with Kareena. So, I think that’s the purest form of love, when you’re giving yourself to someone without any expectations back.”
From a 50-hour filmmaking challenge that began in 2011 to a multidisciplinary creative platform bringing creators from across the world together, IFP brings the 16th season with the same idea at its heart: make something, put it out into the world, and see where it takes you.
Building on 15 glorious editions, IFP Season 16 continues to be a meeting ground for the people making, shaping, and reimagining culture across creative disciplines!