Pratim D Gupta introduces a new detective, Shantilal

Detective films seem to be the flavour of the season. At a time when two Byomkesh films are set to cross swords at the box office this Puja,

Pratim D Gupta

has come up with another — an original new detective.

Shantilal

(Ritwick Chakraborty) is a weather reporter at an English newspaper who evolves into a detective when he pursues a story involving movie star Nandita (Paoli Dam). Pratim’s Shantilal O Projapoti Rohoshyo will see the birth of this new detective. “The film was earlier titled Ink, based on my Sundance Lab-selected script. But I didn’t want the audience to be confused about whether it’s an English film or a Bangla film. Hence, the new title. I have always loved thrillers. As is evident with Shaheb Bibi Golaam. So, making a detective thriller has always been on my mind. My favourite Ritwick luckily hasn’t played a detective yet while all the other leading men have. The film also stars Goutam Ghose, Chitrangada Chakraborty and Ambarish Bhattacharya in important roles with a special cameo by Srijit Mukherji. The songs are composed by Arko,” said the director.

Reportedly, Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan was initially approached for the male lead, but he didn’t take it up at that time and Ritwick was chosen to play the same. Interestingly, the Ritwick-Paoli jodi has been a favourite for Pratim as the pair also shared screen space in two of his earlier film, Macher Jhol. Although Ahare Mon has both the actors playing key roles, they were not seen together. Shantilal O Projapoti Rohoshyo will release in August.