Anirban Bhattacharya bids farewell to Byomkesh Bakshi
He said it’s time for a new actor to continue the journey
At a time when many actors aspire to play Byomkesh Bakshi, the beloved detective of Bengali literature created by Saradindu Bandopadhyay, actor Anirban Bhattacharya has chosen to retire from the role. At a press conference in Kolkata on Monday, he announced that his last portrayal of Byomkesh Bakshi will be in Srijit Mukherji’s ‘Durgo Rawhoshyo’, a web series that will be streaming on ‘Hoichoi’ on October 19.
Anirban started playing the sleuth on ‘Hoichoi’ in October 2017. Over the last six years, he has been a part of 13 stories, spanning eight seasons and 20 episodes. ‘Durgo Rawhoshyo’ will be the 14th Byomkesh Bakshi story that he has been part of.
It was during the shooting of ‘Durgo Rawhoshyo’ that Anirban began thinking about retiring as Byomkesh Bakshi. “As an actor, I know my limitations. After working on 14 Byomkesh Bakshi stories, when I came back from shooting ‘Durgo Rawhoshyo’, I questioned if I had anything more to offer as an actor to the character. I don’t think there’s anything else I can bring to Byomkesh Bakshi. So, ‘Durgo Rawhoshyo’ will be my last time playing Byomkesh. It’s time for a new actor to continue Byomkesh’s journey and explore new aspects of the character,” he said.
Anirban also thanked everyone who worked with him on these 14 stories, including directors, actors and scriptwriters. He specifically thanked director Arindam Sil, who not only proposed him for the role of Byomkesh on ‘Hoichoi’ but also conducted his first look set.
Srijit is all praise for Anirban and said, “I had no plans to work on Byomkesh, but ‘Durgo Rawhoshyo’ was the one I wanted to do and with Anirban. I applaud Anirban for this big decision. Not many actors make such choices. Only a genius knows when to stop. Anirban has worked with many directors on Byomkesh stories and I believe he’s one of the best Byomkesh Bakshis I’ve ever seen.”
This Durga Puja, both Srijit and Anirban have two releases: ‘Durgo Rawhoshyo’ on OTT and ‘Dawshom Awbotaar’ on the big screen.
