When Diya Annapurna Ghosh was tasked with the responsibility of directing the much-awaited Bob Biswas spin-off, actor Abhishek Bachchan was already on board and for a first-time director, this was a lot of pressure. “There was a lot of pressure. Because there were so many big names connected to this – Red Chillies Entertainment, even my dad (Sujoy Ghosh) for that matter, so it was a lot of pressure but I think you just have to keep a steady mind to get over it,” shared Diya in a conversation. Diya is the daughter of famed writer-director Sujoy Ghosh, who first wrote the character of Bob Biswas for his film Kahaani in 2012. For the spin-off, Sujoy returned as the writer but Diya helmed the project.
Diya explained that in Bob Biswas, they wanted to explore “how he became who he is” and “did not want to do the same thing as Kahaani”. In trying to make his character more wholesome, Diya shared that they wanted a “different Bob Biswas altogether”. “We tried to make the character a little bit more humanised. As you know, we are all grey. We gave him a family to make sure that you would root for him. He has something to care about. We should be able to see that side of him as well, along with the killing side,” she said.