Exclusive! Abhinay Deo: We always intended to make a sequel to Delhi Belly

Abhinay Deo’s Delhi Belly completed 10 years of its release on Thursday. The film starred Imran Khan, Vir Das, and Kunaal Roy Kapur in the lead roles.

Delhi Belly was quite a bold film, but it was accepted by the audience, and it was a hit at the box office.

We recently interacted with Abhinay Deo, and when asked him if he was hesitant to make a film like Delhi Belly as it would have been a risk 10 years ago, the filmmaker told us, “No, there was no hesitation from my side. I was quite sure that our audiences are ready for it and particularly the younger audience; the youth was totally ready. But yes, there was a risk because we didn’t know whether we will be able to release this film, whether the censor board will not ask for too many cuts, whether they will pounce on us and ban the film or the moral police at that point of time could have created a big fuss. We didn’t know all these things, so from that perspective, it was a risk.”

There have been reports that Delhi Belly will be getting a sequel. When we asked about it, Deo said, “We always intended to make a sequel that is true. But, we have not been able to come up with an idea good enough for the sequel. Whenever you make a sequel of a film as celebrates as Delhi Belly, it’s always a big task. It’s a very tall order and you have to better it, and bettering any film starts with a script. So until there’s a script we can’t do it. But, let’s hope that in near future we will be able to come up with something.”

Imran Khan was at the peak of his career when Delhi Belly had released. However, he decided to quit acting after the release of Katti Batti (2015).

When we asked Deo if he feels disappointed that Imran has quit acting, he stated, “I am no one to say what he should do or he should not do. But, what I personally feel is that he is a very intelligent and extremely well-read, and well-informed person. He is a trained director; he has got a great mind. So, having all these talents I obviously feel that he should have done something as an actor or as a director or as a writer; somebody as talented as him and as smart as him should be able to put his mind out there.”