Shoojit Sircar denies that he will direct Thackeray sequel

Thackeray (2019) producer Sanjay Raut confirmed recently in an interview that a sequel of the biopic of the late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray is on the anvil.

“Balasaheb’s legacy cannot be contained in a span of two hours. Hence, before the film is out, the sequel is already in place,” he told the Bombay Times entertainment supplement of The Times of India newspaper.

Thackeray hit the theatres today and audiences saw the legend, 'To be continued...’, on the screen after the film ended. The first film ends in 1995 and the sequel is expected to showcase Thackeray’s life in the years that followed.

Some reports last year had claimed that director Shoojit Sircar was in talks with the producers to direct the sequel. Sircar’s comments praising the first film further fuelled the speculation.

Also, there were reports that Abhijit Panse, who directed the first part, had fallen out with Raut. The reports were lent credence by Panse leaving a special screening of the film earlier this week even before the event began.

Though Panse has said he was not upset, senior leaders from the rival Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), of which he is a member, slammed Raut on social media for ignoring the filmmaker during the Thackeray promotions.

But when Cinestaan.com contacted Sircar, he said he is not helming the sequel. “I am not doing it,” he said. Repeated attempts to reach Panse failed.