Byomkesh O Chiriakhana Bengali Movie
Remaking a Satyajit Ray film is no matter of Joke, even if the film is not considered to be a gem in his oeuvre. Sharadindu Bandopadhyay created this iconic sleuth long back in the 30's who is still relevant in 2016. A number of important films both in Bengali and Hindi (directed by Dibakar Banerjee), television series (for Doordarshan directed by veteran Basu Chatterjee) were based upon the classic detective who prefers calling himself Satyanweshi. From Uttam Kuman to Rajat Kapur, Gaurav Chakraborty to Jissu Sengupta, all have participated in the portrayal of the quintessential self of Bengali culture. Adaptation of the Byomkesh series always seemed to have been easy bait for Producers as well as Directors!
The latest is of no exception. Anjan Dutt, has found his call in Byomkesh and added his own magic into it. He tried to make the age old truth seeker contemporary and sleek. The story goes like this: Nishanath Sen (Shantilaal Mukherjee) a former judge retires and settles down in Golap Colony, a kind of rehabilitation for ex criminals. Everybody residing there have a past. Damayanti Sen(Ankita Chakraborty),Banalaxmi(Priyanka Sarkar) Mukul(Saayani Ghosh) Najar Bibi( Kanchana Sarkar) Mushkil Miya(Kanchan Mullick) Nepal Gupta( Dulal Lahiri) Dr Bhujangadhar(Neel Mukherjee) all constituted the inhabitants of the farmland. Nishanath Sen meets Byomkesh and invites him to take a look of his property and the men/women in action. He is suddenly receiving spare parts of a motor car and also he is in search of yesteryear's heroine Sunayana. Byomkesh visits Golap Colony and immediately after that, Nishanath is murdered followed by the death of an autistic person, Panugopal (Riju Biswas), residing in the colony and in charge of fishing.
Byomkesh finally unveils the truth. But somehow, the magic is missing. The story falls flat especially in the scenes of interrogation. Riju Biswas seems to be the new discovery of the Director but as Panugopal he overacts and thus fails to impress. Jisshu Sengupta as the Byomkesh Bakshi has a certain screen presence; and he makes maximum use of that. Saswata Gangopadyay (as Ajit) is becoming a safe bait for the producers. After Bob Biswas in Kahani, he has his own fan following and here is no exception. Ushashi as Satyabati looks pale and fatigued and plays a second fiddle in the film.
In Bijoy's role, Anjan Dutt's dubbing dominates more than his acting. The Director's appearance at the end of the film is of questionable nature. Indraneel Mukherjee's camerawork is average. Is it natural for the Bengalis' in the 30's to use English like that random? Neel Dutt's music is tolerable. Overall, if Bengalis are not so prone towards nostalgia, this film wouldn't have any pull in the box office!!
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