How Konkona Sen Sharma got Anurag Basu to include a tribute to Irrfan Khan’s Life in a Metro character in Metro In Dino

The Hindi film industry is more invested in ‘spiritual’ sequels than in true sequels. These movies may not directly advance the plot, but are linked by themes and genres. The newest spiritual successor is Metro…In Dino, which follows Anurag Basu’s 2007 success, Life in a Metro.

As usual, the new Metro features a completely new ensemble, with only Konkona Sen Sharma reprising a role, albeit as a different character. Nonetheless, Konkona made sure that there was a subtle link Metro In Dino kept with Life in a Metro, which also paid homage to the legendary character portrayed by the late Irrfan Khan in the original. Life in a Metro featured Konkona as Shruti, a woman seeking a partner in an arranged marriage scenario.

The movie depicted her falling for Monty (portrayed by Irrfan), a quirky and whimsical man who was somewhat older. In Metro In Dino, Kajal is the name of Konkona’s character, and she is paired with Pankaj Tripathi, whose character is also named Monty.

Director Anurag Basu tells, “The character was not called Monty. It was Coco’s (Konkona) suggestion. ‘Let’s call him Monty,’ she said, and I said, ‘Yes, right’. It was on the first day of the shoot.”

Konkona says she made the suggestion “because it is such a goofy kind of character”, quite similar to Irrfan’s character from the 2007 original. Director Basu clarifies, “The character is very different, though. Just the name is the same.” However, Konkona adds that the thread binding them is their approach to romance. “The whole track is humorous,” she says.

Metro In Dino also stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, Ali Fazal, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Neena Gupta, and Anupam Kher. The film is scheduled to release on 4 July.