Better Call Bob? Abhishek Bachchan to Play Bob Biswas in ‘Kahaani’ spin-off!

He is a common Bengali man with thick glasses and a mop-top. He lives in Kolkata and works as an insurance agent. He is polite, and greets you with a smile and ‘Namaskar’ before he kills you, like he was hired to do.

He is Bob Biswas, one of the most memorable Bollywood characters, from the film Kahaani (2012). Portrayed by Bengali actor Saswata Chatterjee, the secondary-character has a short role, but it remains fresh in the viewers memory due to its uniqueness. Chatterjee’s character was so popular that Quikr made an ad featuring him as Bob Biswas. In the actor’s own words, he had scared his wife with the portrayl.

I had watched Kahaani in theatres eight years ago. I have forgotten the bigger characters like Satyoki and Khan, but I remembered Bob and his terrifying, insidious smile. I still remember how the theatre gasped collectively during the scene in which Bob meets Vidya.

So after eight years, Bob is getting his limelight in the form of a spinoff. This story is a Kahaani-prequel, much like a “Better Call Saul” story. Interestingly, Saswata Chatterjee will not be reprising the iconic role.

If it were up to me, I would cast Manoj Joshi, but the filmmaker Diya Annapurna Ghosh went with Abhishek Bachchan. The film is produced by Red Chillies Entertainment. Chitrangada Singh has been cast as Mrs. Bob Biswas, and they have a son.

I am expecting a double-life story similar to The Family Man, but instead of an intelligence officer, we have a contract killer.

All of us wish Saswata Chatterjee played Bob, but the actor has made it clear he does not want to be typecast in the role. I am not sure how a tall and conspicuous actor like Abhishek Bachchan will play this role with a wig and a fake paunch. But who knows, we might be in for a pleasant surprise!