5 iconic sleuths of Bengali cinema who never grow old

Be it Feluda or Byomkesh; Bengali cinema has often immortalized typical detectives as larger-than-life characters who left us in awe while piecing the most difficult puzzles together with ease. The undeniable thrill a detective movie offers is something simply unavoidable. The gripping suspense, the intoxicating mystery and finally unraveling all the facts by a sleuth character who has extremely high levels of intelligence and patience are something to look forward to. Here we lowdown on some of Bengali cinema’s all-time favourite sleuths.

Films: ‘Sonar Kella’, ‘Joy Baba Felunath’, ‘Bombaiyer Bombete’, ‘Kailashey Kelenkari’, ‘Tintorettor Jishu’, ‘Gorosthaney Sabdhan’, ‘Royal Bengal Rahashya’, ‘Badshahi Angti’ and ‘Double Feluda’

It’s been 50 years since Feluda was introduced to Bengali literature and attained popularity all over India. Satyajit Ray’s ‘Sonar Kella’ in 1974, introduced a six-foot charming young detective and his teenage assistant who took on a case of hypnotism and reincarnation. Many actors have portrayed the charismatic Feluda, such as Shashi Kapoor in a Hindi Doordarshan series, but Soumitra Chatterjee rightfully grabs everyone’s imagination till today. Sabyasachi Chakraborty also deserves special mention for his portrayal of the Bengali detective in director Sandip Ray’s Feluda films.

Films: ‘Chiriyakhana’, ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’, ‘AbarByomkesh’, ‘Satyanweshi’, ‘Byomkesh Phire Elo’, ‘Shajarur Kanta’, ‘Har Har Byomkesh’, ‘Byomkesh O Chiriyakhana’, ‘Byomkesh Pawrbo’ and ‘Byomkesh O Agnibaan’

Byomkesh Bakshi, this famous Bengali detective character made his celluloid debut in Satyajit Ray’s film back in 1967. However, he only gained universal appeal in Basu Chatterjee’s popular TV adaptation starring Rajit Kapur in the titular role. Many actors have played ‘Byomkesh’, but nobody enjoys the cult status more than Kolkata heartthrob Abir Chatterjee. Jisshu Sengupta had also done a decent job in the Anjan Dutt directorial. Dibakar Banerjee’s ‘Detective Byomkesh Bakshy’ gave a fresh look at the character and introduced a decent narrative style to the series, but it was Bengali films like ‘Abar Byomkesh’, ‘Byomkesh Parba’, ‘Byomkesh Phire Elo’, ‘Har Har Byomkesh’ that became box office hits.

Films: ‘Kiriti Roy’, ‘Kiriti O Kalo Bhromor’, ‘Ebong Kiriti’ and ‘Nilacholey Kiriti’

It’s a surprise that Nihar Ranjan Gupta’s most famous character is the dashing Bengali detective Kiriti Roy, who made his debut on-screens in 2016. It was an adaptation of the book ‘Kalo Bhromor’ (The Black Wasp). Kiriti’s character seems to have taken a cue or two from Holmes– he smokes a pipe, carries a magnifying glass, prefers an overcoat and tatami slippers – but the plots for most of the stories are rather simple. Director Anindya Bikash Datta’s ‘Kiriti O Kalo Bromor’ that released in 2016 introduced actor Indraneil Sengupta as Kiriti and he received a decent response from the audience. The second film of this series, ‘Nilachale Kiriti’ also managed to pull off a good amount of business at the Box Office.

Films: ‘Sabuj Dwiper Raja’, ‘Kakababu Here Gelen’, ‘Mishawr Rawhoshyo’ and ‘Yeti Obhijaan’

Srijit Mukherji’s fascinating casting featuring Prosenjit Chatterjee as Kakababu is as good as it gets in Tollywood. Popular historian Kakababu’s real name is Raja Ray Chowdhury, Shontu being his nephew (hence the Kakababu) narrates the stories. Kakababu's first big-screen adaptation was in ‘Shobuj Dwiper Raja’ (The King of the Emerald Isle) by director Tapan Sinha. Srijit Mukherji’s ‘Kakababu’ films, ‘Mishawr Rohosyo’ (The Egyptian Mystery) and ‘Yeti Obhijan (Yeti Adventures), featuring Prosenjit Chatterjee in the lead, is also considered a superb attempt to bring the iconic detective to life. Prosenjit owns the role in this series that has as many as 39 adventures.

Films: ‘Ebar Shabor’, ‘Eagoler Chokh’ and ‘Aschhe Abar Shabor’

Shabor Dasgupta is an honest police officer, not a private ‘goyenda’. Shabor comes with a taste of realism to the Bengali detective films but is not for children. The screen adaptations of this character in films like ‘Ebar Shabor’, ‘Eagoler Chokh’ and ‘Aschhe Abar Shabor’ was portrayed by actor Saswata Chatterjee. The stories would often be murky as director Arindam Sil is known to blur the lines between right and wrong, but Shabor Dasgupta is a refreshing change free from nostalgia.