Vidya Balan REPLACED In Kahaani 3 By THIS National Award Winning Actress

This year's National Film Awards announcements welcomed new winners from Bollywood. While Kartik Aaryan bagged the Best Actor honour for his role in Chandu Champion, a sports biopic inspired by the life and times of Murlikant Petkar, Yami Gautam won Best Actress for her role in the hard-hitting drama Article 370. Haq, inspired by the landmark Shah Bano case that granted Muslim women the right to maintenance after divorce, also earned Yami praise for her performance.

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While the actress enjoys her well-deserved National Award win, news comes in that she has replaced Vidya Balan in the planned threequel of the thriller Kahaani franchise. As per Pinkvilla, while the first two films in the Kahaani series featured Vidya in the lead, Kahaani 3 will take the story in a completely new direction, and the makers have roped in Yami as the new face. The film is said to be a fresh story set in the world of Kahaani.

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A source shared, "Kahaani 3 is a new story altogether. The idea is to take the franchise forward while retaining the essence of the world that audiences have loved. Yami Gautam is coming on board as the lead, and the character has a very strong arc. The film is still in the pre-production stage, and the team is working on the timelines for the shoot.”

Kahaani (2012) and Kahaani 2 (2016) were directed by Sujoy Ghosh and while the lead actress has been replaced in the planned third film in the franchise, Sujoy has been retained as the director. After 2 Kahaani movies, the universe expanded further with the 2012 thriller Bob Biswas. Based on the unassuming assassin from Kahaani, Bob Biswas was directed by Sujoy's daughter Diya Annapurna Ghosh and starred Abhishek Bachchan in the lead role.