Real-life inspiration, new collaboration, and surprises in store by Srijit Mukherji in Killbill Society

I was not getting the correct story to carry forward the legacy of Ananda Kar. Then I came across a real-life incident that happened with Angelina Jolie. She had once contemplated suicide but also thought about the family and contacted a contract killer. The killer was possibly a fan of Angelina who suggested her to sleep over it. And then her plan got cancelled but she gave me the seed for Killbill Society.

Because the purpose has also changed, Hemlock was about saving suicide aspirants, and Killbill is about killing and then raising a bill.

Mental health is a big issue here but it’s more of a romantic satire as a genre. What happens is it deals with the issue without being preachy or didactic. It speaks of genuine and critical things but in a romantic, light-hearted way.

I have seen Koushani in mainstream commercial films. Then I noticed her in Abar Proloy and Bohurupi where she stepped out of her comfort zone and did something different. But I saw a spark which is all that I need. Now whether or not that spark will become a forest fire would depend on workshops, characterization and all that preparation. But I was pleasantly surprised and even shocked when I realised that the amount of hard work I had mentally accounted for, I had to put in much less. She is very sharp, obedient and perceptive. I had given her some psychological zones which she ingrained. Every scene she asked me which zone and that’s it. Sandipta takes instructions well and modulates her style according to the scene.

Irrfan Khan. We were working on the Hindi remake of Hemlock Society where he was supposed to play Happy Singh, a Punjabi take on Ananda Kar. But then he left us.

Let’s wait. With Srijit Mukherji films, there’s a possibility of anything.