Director Rituparno Ghosh has this penchant for being unconventional. And this unconventional streak reflects in the actors that he chooses for roles in his films. This time, the director has gone even further and cast Katrina Kaif and Arjun Rampal in his film based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel Devi Choudhurani.

The fact that Arjun and Katrina are .the embodiments of today's hip culture does not seem to deter Rituparno in any way. According to him, he goes by the look of the character. Going by the look, Rituparno says both Arjun and Katrina fit the bill. The role that the director has in mind for Arjun is not a substantial one in the novel. But Rituprano has fleshed out the character and made it more multi-dimensional. The decision to cast Arjun, who is also playing a major role in his English film The Last Lear, was determined when Arjun flew down to Kolkata to meet Rituparno. The two had a hush-hush meeting. Arjun is very keen to work with Rituparno and the director too feels that the actor has something that needs to be tapped. According to Arjun, Rituparno has the ability to bring out something new in every actor. These are good days for Arjun, who has recently received a lot of rave reviews for his role in Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om. He is also believed to have impressed with his role in The Last Lear as well. The film is doing the rounds of festivals in Rome, London and New York. It has also been widely appreciated by the Italian Film Commission which has decided to honour the director with the Premio Arca D'oro Award.