Bob Biswas Review: The Iconic 'Kahaani' Character Deserves a Better Spin-Off

Bob Biswas, the poker-faced insurance agent from Sujoy Ghosh’s 2012 cult classic Kahaani gets a spin off. This one is written by Sujoy and directed by his daughter Diya Annapurna Ghosh. Here Bob Biswas, we are told, wakes up from a coma after years and has lost his memory. But the deal is that we remember everything.

In fact, Bob Biswas (pronounced Bob Bishash in Bengali) isn’t the kind one can forget easily. His deadpan face and steely cold psychotic stare can send a chill down the spine even now.

Played by Saswata Chatterjee in the original, it’s now Abhishek Bachchan on whose nose rest Bob’s signature square frames. Carrying the cross-body sling bag, heavy footed Abhishek’s Bob trudges along but it isn’t easy to erase the memory of Saswata Chatterjee who breathed life into this character.

Bob Biswas the film, one soon realizes is an attempt to humanize a deadly assassin. Bob might not have a bank of memory for easy access but he has a pretty wife (played by Chitrangada Singh), a young son and a daughter. Also, since his reputation holds him in good stead, he soon gets to wield a gun too.

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VO: RJ Stutee