Rituparno chooses Katrina for Arjun

By: Subhash K. Jha, IndiaFM
Thursday, November 22, 2007

There was a hush-hush meeting between the director and actor. And now the two are ready to work together. Rituparno Ghosh who has already made an unusual selection for the title role in his adaptation of Bankimchand Chatterjee's Debi Choudhrani has now gone a step further in his quest for unconventional casting. Ritu has cast Arjun Rampal opposite Katrina in his classic adaptation.

When doubts are expressed as to how Bankimchand would have reacted to two of the most hip actors in Mumbai getting into his literary space Ritu explains, "I go by the look of the character. I see him fitting the bill as well as Katrina. In the novel, the role I've in mind for Arjun is not as substantial. I've fleshed out the character, made it more rounded and multi-dimensional. Arjun"s is now a pivotal role."

The decision to cast Arjun was determined by Ritu's meeting with the actor last month. "Arjun flew down to Kolkata to meet me. Our meeting went really well. He's keen to work with me. And I feel there's something there that can be tapped into." Adds Arjun, “I've gone and met him Kolkata. Really liked him. He's a director's actor. He brings out something new in every actor."

As for how much justice Katrina and Arjun would do to the literary adaptation we can only take Ritu's word for it.