Why Director Madhumita Chose Abhishek Bachchan Over Amitabh Bachchan for ‘Kaalidhar Laapata’ (EXCLUSIVE)

When filmmaker Madhumita decided to adapt her Tamil film “KD” into Hindi as “Kaalidhar Laapata,” she knew she wanted to approach the story differently. While many suggested casting Amitabh Bachchan in the central role, she eventually chose Abhishek Bachchan, believing he would bring a different dimension to the character.

In an exclusive conversation with Variety India, Madhumita explains that the decision also stemmed from her desire to move away from the original film’s emotional premise. “‘KD’ explored the story of an 80-year-old man, his bucket list and finding ways to live life. I had already done that with the original. Of course, I would have absolutely loved to work with Bachchan sir, and it is still my dream to collaborate with him. However, I wanted to explore a different version of the character in the Hindi adaptation,” she says.

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“KD,” a 2019 dramedy, starring Mu Ramaswamy, Naga Vishal and others. It is about an 80-year-old villager in rural Tamil Nadu who wakes up after a coma and overhears his greedy children plotting to kill him via ‘Thalaikoothal’ (a traditional and illegal practice of senicide (the killing of the elderly) or involuntary euthanasia).

The filmmaker, who recently helmed the Tamil series “Love Always,” adapted from the Korean webtoon “Here We Go Again,” adds that “KD”’s cultural context also influenced her decision to rework the character’s journey. The tradition of ‘Thalaikoothal,’ which forms an important part of the original story, does not carry the same cultural weight when the story is adapted into Hindi. Rather than transplanting that conflict directly, she wanted to create an emotional premise that Hindi-speaking audiences could connect with. “I wanted to make sure it was a different journey for the character, where he feels that he has sacrificed so much for his siblings, but when he needs them, they are not there for him. That is what we explored," she explains.