The
half-Bengali
side
of
Abhishek
Bachchan's
personality
got
him
the
role
of
the
freedom
fighter
Surjya
Sen
in
Ashutosh
Gowariker's
new
film
Khelein
Hum
Jee
Jaan
Sey.
Abhishek
also
speaks
a
smattering
of
Bengali
in
the
film.
Says
the
director,
"Abhishek's
Bengali-ness
did
help.
I
immediately
saw
him
as
Surjya
Sen.
Yes
the
Bangla
side
of
Abhishek's
personality
definitely
helped.
I
also
wanted
to
work
with
him
for
quite
some
time…even
from
before
his
debut
film
Refugee.
I
had
even
narrated
Lagaan
to
him.
Every
script
has
its
own
destiny.
In
Khelein
Hum
Jee
Jaan
Sey
Abhishek
was
the
perfect
Surjya
Sen.
Though
Abhishek
had
never
done
a
period
film
he
got
into
it
effortlessly.
He
got
into
a
dhoti
as
effortlessly
as
Deepika
Padukone
carries
off
her
saree.
They
both
look
like
they've
worn
it
all
their
life."
The
fact
that
Abhishek's
prestigious
Raavan
has
tanked
does
not
dampen
Ashutosh's
spirits.
"He's
a
terrific
actor.
But
expectations
from
him
are
of
a
very
different
kind
because
of
his
lineage.
Whatever
work
he
does
is
taken
for
granted.
Raavan
makes
no
difference
to
me.
After
directing
Baazi
I've
seen
three
years
of
no
work.
Success
or
failure
doesn't
affect
my
judgment.
Even
when
I
was
doing
What's
Your
Raashee
Harman
Baweja's
Love
Story
2050
didn't
work.
So
what?
While
I
was
doing
Jodhaa-Akbar,
Dhoom
2
released
and
my
pair
(Hrithik-Aishwarya)
became
a
hit.
Who
knows
the
ways
of
destiny?"
Gowariker
doesn't
agree
that
period
films
don't
have
a
market.
"Audiences
are
interested
in
something
new.
They
don't
go
by
the
genre."
After
the
failure
of
What's
Your
Raashee,
Gowariker
has
become
more
cautious.
"Thankfully
the
failure
of
Raashee
didn't
affect
my
plans
to
make
KHJJS.
PVR
Pictures
backed
me
all
the
way.
I
was
lucky
that
the
project
happened
so
quickly
after
Raashee."
The
film
also
has
Sikandar
Kher,
debutant
Maninder
Singh
and
Samrat
Mukherjee
(who
was
launched
a
few
years
ago
by
Pahlaj
Nihalani).
"Samrat
was
the
first
actor
I
cast
even
before
Abhishek.
Then
I've
a
Feroz
Wahid
Khan
who
was
launched
by
Dev
Anand
Saab
in
Love
At
Times
Square.
I
don't
care
about
success
or
failure
while
casting."
Ashutosh
Gowariker
was
determined
to
film
a
forgotten
chapter
of
the
freedom
movement.
"We've
always
known
about
the
sacrifices
of
Bhagat
Singh,
Sukhdev,
etc.
We
know
nothing
about
Surjya
Sen
and
the
Chittagong
Uprising.
They
are
no
more
than
a
line
in
our
school
books.
I
came
across
the
book
Do
And
Die
by
Manini
Chatterjee.
That's
when
I
realized
the
importance
of
this
uprising.
It
is
an
important
slice
of
the
Freedom
movement,
undertaken
by
teenagers,
in
our
history
of
independence.
When
I
started
researching
I
realized
we
don't
know
much
about
it
because
Chittagong
is
now
in
Bangladesh,
hence
some
kind
of
segregation
might
have
happened.
I
felt
an
intense
desire
to
bring
this
story
to
screen.
Set
in
1930,
it's
a
slice
of
history.
But
the
sub-genre
of
Khelein
Hum
Jee
Jaan
Sey
is
thriller.
While
my
Lagaan
was
a
period
drama,
this
one
is
period
thriller." And
what
about
Romance?
"Abhishek
and
Deepika
don't
have
time
to
romance;
they're
working
together
for
the
country's
freedom."
As
for
his
next
project,
Ashutosh
Gowariker
is
still
searching
for
the
actor
to
play
Buddha.
"I
need
the
compassion
of
the
monk
and
the
elegance
of
the
prince.
It's
a
very
rare
combination.
I
also
want
the
world
to
adopt
my
Buddha.
From
Korea
to
Japan
to
Tibet
to
India…every
South-East
country
and
even
the
West
should
feel
it's
their
Buddha.
So
it
has
to
be
a
face
that's
pure
and
life-defining.
I'm
still
looking.
But
if
I
don't
get
my
Buddha
I'll
drop
the
project."
Ashutosh
has
put
his
hunt
for
Buddha
on
the
internet.
"The
maximum
response
has
come
from
India,
Middle
East,
Australia,
UK
and
the
US.
But
I'm
not
rushing
it.
We've
paused
pre-production.
This
is
my
only
chance
to
make
Buddha.
I
can't
afford
to
mess
it
up.
It's
for
posterity.
I
should
be
able
to
feel
the
grace
and
divinity
of
the
actor
every
time
he
comes
on
the
sets.
I'd
rather
not
make
the
movie
than
compromise.
But
I
feel
my
Buddha
is
out
there."
Ashutosh
Gowariker
has
been
traveling
extensively
to
hunt
locations
for
Buddha.
"I've
been
to
Himachal
Pradesh,
Rohtang
Pass;
all
the
way
to
Kaza…I
tried
to
understand
my
Buddha.
The
challenge
is,
I'd
be
dealing
with
a
God.
I've
to
understand
Buddha
before
making
the
film."
Ashutosh
Gowariker
is
barely
out
of
directing
one
film
Khelein
Hum
Jee
Jaan
Sey
and
he's
already
in
pursuit
of
a
Buddha
for
his
next
venture.
Explains
the
director,
"I
always
have
overlapping
stories
in
my
mind.
While
I
was
doing
Lagaan
I
already
had
Swades
in
mind.
While
doing
Swades
I
was
already
thinking
of
Jodhaa-Akbar.
While
doing
KHJJS
I
was
researching
Buddha.
My
producer
Dr
B.K.
Modi
wanted
to
make
Buddha
for
quite
some
time.
He
approached
me
with
the
script
by
David
S.
Ward
who
had
won
the
Oscar
for
The
Sting,
when
I
was
doing
Jodhaa
Akbar."
Ashutosh
welcomes
the
ready
made
script
for
Buddha.
"I'm
not
a
writer.
And
besides
I've
contributed
to
David
Ward's
script.
The
entire
Indian-
ness
in
the
script
was
put
by
me
like
a
creative
blanket."
Ashutosh
has
seen
the
Western
films
on
Buddha.
"Ward's
script
is
different.
It's
more
about
Prince
Siddharth
who
chose
the
path
of
monk
hood.
It
was
Ward's
script
that
made
me
interested
in
Buddha."
After
KHJJS,
Buddha
would
be
a
complete
departure
of
tone
and
theme
for
the
director.
"I
like
the
tool
box
to
be
different
each
time
that
I
set
out
to
build
something.
Only
then
can
I
evolve
as
a
human
being."
Read
review
of
Khelein
Hum
Jee
Jaan
Sey...Click
Here
Story first published: Friday, December 3, 2010, 10:35 [IST]