After films like Delhi Belly, Force 2 and Blackmail, director Abhinay Deo is back with the fictional docu-drama Doosra.

The film has been written by Agnello Dias, one of the most influential filmmakers in Indian advertising.

Abhinay said the credit of Doosra goes to Masha and Rohan Sajdeh who live in Chicago.

“Two years ago they called me and said they have an interesting idea. I loved it and felt this cannot be made into a documentary. I decided to combine pure fiction and documentary together.

Sourav Ganguly at the 2002 NatWest final YouTube

“Doosra is about an important juncture in Indian history and socio-political scenario and how it changed a lot of things. It is based on how cricket has made an impact on the emotional and aggressive attitude on every single youngster of India. How (former India captain) Sourav Ganguly’s taking off the shirt at Lord’s during the NatWest Trophy final against England in 2002 after chasing the 326-run target affected people’s lives and the youth of our country,” Abhinay said.

The NatWest final was played on July 13, 2002.

Abhinay Deo (Telegraph file picture)

Abhinay said cricket has influenced every citizen of India. “In 1991, the country was broke and in a shambles and then globalisation happened. We opened our doors to the world. We have an inferiority complex as far as the whites are concerned. But cricket changed that. It was a game that the British taught us but we took over. India’s memorable victory and Sourav’s action showed people that we are no less. We showed them we are equals and at that point Sourav said we are even better.”

Plabita Borthakur (Telegraph file picture)

On choosing Lipstick Under My Burkha’s Plabita Borthakur for the lead, Abhinay said: “She is outstanding and a fine actress. I didn’t want a star. We have a star and that’s Sourav Ganguly. The nature of the film is docu-fiction and it’s (thus) closer to reality and simplicity. I didn’t want it to overshadow our film. She (Plabita’s character Tara) is a normal person living in a tier-two city where our film is based.

“A simple girl gets affected by the history of the game. Getting a star would have distracted and affected the reality of the film. Our audiences have become more accepting to concepts now,” he said, adding that the film has an interesting crew.

On his forthcoming projects he said: “I am planning something for the digital platform, and contemplating on four feature films in the pipeline. What I am doing now is completely mainstream. I want to make something different. The audience is tired of watching the same kind of stories. We are also contemplating a sequel to Delhi Belly,” he said.