The festival season in Kolkata is going to see a crop of new detective films in Bengali- a Byomkesh Bakshi thriller and a Feluda flick.
Double Feluda is an upcoming thriller directed by acclaimed director Sandip Ray, son of the iconic film director Satyajit Ray.
Occasion? Feluda was created by the acclaimed Oscar-winning director 50 years ago and son Sandip Ray’s latest Feluda film is based on this popular Bengali sleuth’s many exploits.
This film also marks the comeback of veteran actor Sabyasachi Chakraborty as Feluda (after Royal Bengal Rahasya in 2011) and Saheb Bhattacharya, as his assistant Topshe.
The film is scheduled to be released in mid-December. Two stories, ‘Samaddarer Chabi’ and ‘Golokdham Rahasya’ are going to be packed in this thriller. The popular character Jatayu of other Feluda stories and films will probably be missing from these films.
Just a year after hitting the silver screen with the popular Har Har Byomkesh, director Arindam Sil will be back once again with a revamped Byomkesh Bakshi – Byomkesh Pawrbo- starring Abir Chatterjee in the lead role.
Based on Sharadindu Bandhopadhyay’s classic series, the cerebral Bengali sleuth Byomkesh Bakshi will be revealing his daring side as he pulls off some daredevil stunts in the Dooars forest where the story is set. A new riveting case sees Bakshi playing investigator in Santagola which has become a hub of the illegal weapons trade.
The Bengal Government requests the sleuth to track down the culprits but as soon as Bakshi starts his investigation, he zeroes in on few well-known people of this city, who turn out to be possible suspects. However, he realises that these men are powerful and he will never be able to search their warehouses and mills.
In the meantime, a demented man named Amrito claims that he has seen a strange, horse-riding figure roaming around the jungle. Amrito is sent to the jungle to observe this phenomenon. The very next morning, his bullet ridden dead body is found inside the jungle. As Byomkesh delves deep into the case, a lot of well-respected men gets unmasked.
Director Arindam Sil explains why going back to this particular series is important to him, “Byomkesh Bakshi is one character in Bengali literature whose depth lies in the multiple layers of his persona. Though he is a deep thinker, a ‘Satyanweshi’ yet his unflinching courage, righteous nature and dauntless spirit make him stand apart from the rest”.
The key attractions of the film, says Sil, are the beauty of the Dooars forest where the film has been extensively shot, the backdrop of the Tebhaga movement of 1948 and superb acting by an eclectic cast, including Abir Chatterjee (Byomkesh), Sohini Sarkar, Ritwick Chakraborty, Rajatava Dutta, June Maliah, Sayantika Banerjee, Kaushik Sen and other accomplished character actors of Bengali cinema.
Releasing on December 12, the film is bound to face off with the Feluda release but Sil is confident about his success, “I am my own competition. Also, if Sandip Ray is liberal enough to give me rights to making another Feluda film, I’m game”.
The film has been produced by Shree Venkatesh Films and Surinder Films while Sandip Ray’s Double Feluda has been produced by Eros International.