What drives a filmmaker to remake their movie for a new set of viewers? The curiosity to see whether the story can be told differently without losing its essence, says Madhumita. For her Hindi film debut with Kaalidhar Laapata, the director has adapted her Tamil offering, KD (2019). “After KD received accolades, I was fielding calls from all corners — Malayalam, Hindi, and even Korean filmmakers,” she laughs.

A still from the Tamil original, KD (2019)

She chose to adapt the film in Hindi as the language and culture offered familiarity. There was another reason she revisited the story of a man who sets out to live his life with joy and purpose, after learning that he is battling dementia. “In KD, our hero is an 80-year-old man. For the Hindi version, I thought what if our protagonist was younger, someone who has never lived for himself? He’s not ready to say goodbye. Also, in the Tamil version, the little boy is tough and short-tempered. But Ballu, in Hindi, holds on to his innocence like a prized toy. So, adapting KD in Hindi was also about exploring new shades of hope,” reflects Madhumita. 

Madhumita

In Kaalidhar Laapata, Abhishek Bachchan has stepped into the protagonist’s role. For the director, he was the anchor of the Z5 film. “I never write a character with a specific actor in mind because if that actor says no, it’s like having your favourite dessert snatched away just as you’re about to take a bite! So, I focus on building the character authentically. Nikkhil Advani, one of our producers, arranged a narration with Abhishek Bachchan. AB sir is known for his suave, urban roles; he’s the guy you expect to see in a sharp suit, not struggling with memory loss in a small village. But that’s exactly what drew me to him for Kaalidhar.”

Madhumita is part of the growing pool of women filmmakers in India. Ask her the challenges she faces, and she cuts in, “Being labelled a female filmmaker and having my gender precede my work can be exhausting. I’m proud to be a woman, but I don’t believe my gender should define how my work is evaluated. One of the biggest challenges is the assumption that women can only tell certain kinds of stories, like feel-good films or rom-coms. Beyond that, the daily challenges aren’t so different from what women face in any industry. There is also an idea that cinema is less safe for women, but that’s not true.”