Vidya in the Hindi remake of Bengali film Rajkahini

Srijit Mukherjee, who wrote and directed the Bengali film Rajkahini, is set to remake it in Hindi for producers Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt.

The film will be made with a new cast.

Vidya Balan will replace Rituparno Sengupta, as the brothel's madame. The 11 other sex workers will be played by a new cast too. And there is a good reason for this.

"We are re-locating the plot of Rajkahini, titled Begum Jaan in Hindi, to the Punjab border," says Srijit. "Rajkahini was located at the Bengal border where the after-effects of Partition are felt less strongly than in Punjab. We’re taking the story to a new level, and to a different scale of expression."

Srijit feels Vidya would be effective as a Punjabi woman.

"She has the right look and diction for it. As for Rituparna, I’ve already spoken to her about the casting. She is very happy that I’m doing the film in Hindi," he says.

"There may not be that many characters in Begum Jaan as there were in Rajkahini," he adds.

The Hindi version will be co-scripted by Srijit and Kausar Munir.

Srijit has already moved bag and baggage from Kolkata to Mumbai. The Bhatts have put him up in a residence.

The shooting of Begum Jaan will begin in August and the film will likely release in early 2017.