It’s a responsibility: Sujoy Ghosh on directing Kareena-led ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’

Mumbai: Filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh says he is elated with the amount of hardwork actors Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma have put in his upcoming feature film “The Devotion of Suspect X”.

The Netflix murder mystery is based on author Keigo Higashino's 2005 Japanese bestselling book of the same title.

Ghosh, known for movies "Jhankar Beats", "Kahaani" and "Badla", said directing such seasoned actors was a huge responsibility.

“When you write something or when you create a character, you work very hard. When you give it to an actor to essay it, it is almost like giving your child to somebody. The way Vijay, Jaideep and Kareena took care of the characters, I was more than happy.

"Everybody has given so much to the film. I'm a bit scared, it's my responsibility," the filmmaker told PTI in an interview.

Ghosh praised Kareena for her professionalism.

"She is not just good as an actor, as a professional, but also as a human being," he added.

The 57-year-old director is currently looking forward to audience response to his latest production venture “Blind”, a remake of the 2011 Korean film of the same name.

He said after watching the original movie a few years ago, he was keen to narrate the story for the Indian audiences.

Fronted by Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, the film had its direct-to-digital release on JioCinema on Friday. It is directed by Shome Makhija.

"The most exciting thing about ‘Blind’ was the premise, a woman, who is visually impaired, is an eye-witness to a crime. How is that possible? When we saw the original film, we really wanted to make it.

"The idea was how do you adapt a Korean film into an Indian film. One has to incorporate the sensibilities, the tricks of the trade and that is what Shome worked hard on,” Ghosh said.

The filmmaker, who served as a co-producer and creative director of “Blind”, said they have altered a few things to suit the Indian sensibilities.

“Without changing it much we have tried to make it a little Indian. Accordingly, we changed and added a few things. Shome kept the original story 95 per cent intact,” he said.

Ghosh said it was director Shome’s idea to rope in Sonam to play the lead role in “Blind” and a coach was hired to help the actor understand the nuances of the character.

The movie also features Purab Kohli, Vinay Pathak, Lillete Dubey, and Shubham Saraf.

Presented by Jio Studios in association with RV Motion Pictures & Lead Films, the movie is a Kanai, Avma and Kross Pictures production.