Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur on Monday said he will start shooting for the follow-up to his 1983 film "Masoom" early next year, with original stars Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah set to return.

The two actors will be joined by Manoj Bajpayee, who worked with Kapur in "Bandit Queen" (1994), and the director's daughter Kaveri.

Kapur shared the film update on the sidelines of the curtain raiser press conference of the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in New Delhi.

"I will start shooting for 'Masoom 2' in February-March 2025. The script is ready. In fact, I was flying in from Dubai yesterday and I left the script ('Masoom 2') behind on my seat.

"I was very scared but it came back to me. The flight attendant wrote a note saying ''Masoom' was such a nice film, this one too would be as nice''. A script that was lost comes back, it's something predestined. It will be a different storyline but will have the same values," he told reporters.

At the press conference, Kapur also expressed interest in re-releasing "Masoom" in theatres. Also starring Tanuja, Supriya Pathak and Saeed Jaffrey, the film follows a family which starts to crumble when the wife discovers that her husband had an affair and child from that relationship has come looking for his father. It featured Jugal Hansraj, Aradhana and Urmila Matondkar as child actors.

The filmmaker, who serves as the festival director at the upcoming IFFI, said he agreed to be part of the movie gala in Goa without thinking much.

"I became a part of the festival so that we could celebrate Indian cinema and cinemagoers. It's not just a film festival, it's a people's festival. It belongs to the creative economy of the country." Kapur, 78, also addressed constant comparisons of IFFI with the Cannes Film Festival, one of the most prestigious film galas around the world.

"If we regard our films as Indian and listen to what our audiences have to say and not just listen to what the filmmakers have to say, then we will become much bigger than Cannes. It's not that difficult to become bigger than Cannes. We must try and one day, we will become bigger than Cannes," he added.

The director, also known for sci-fi hit "Mr India" and international period films like "Elizabeth", "Elizabeth: The Golden Age", urged that streamers be celebrated as a different medium.

"Manoj Bajpayee has become an OTT star and has become so influential. OTT is a different medium that's bringing different actors, writers and talent from around the world. So, we must celebrate OTT." Asked if he was in favour of censorship on OTT by the government, Kapur cited the example of Iranian filmmakers battling rules and regulations through creativity.

"Censorship sometimes sharpens the skills of a filmmaker... You have to fight for something you believe in," he added.

The filmmaker also reflected on the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) to cinema.

"If you start depending on it, you'll become lazy. You have to feel emotions to make a great film, AI can't do that. AI provokes you to be better," he said.

IFFI will be held in Goa between November 20 and November 28.

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