There is no room for excesses in Feluda: Sandip Ray

Ahead of the Christmas release of ���������Royal Bengal Rahasya���������, Sandip Ray says he is like a ���������chotto babu���������, who is possessive about his father���������s things when it comes to giving out Feluda film rights to others.
Even when Bengali movies have not done well at the box-office, Feluda still managed to always be a huge BO draw. How much is that because of the Satyajit Ray loyalist factor and how much of it is because of how you are making the movie?
It���������s very difficult to answer this.I feel that if one can make a good children���������s movie, it will always work. Feluda has a repeat viewership and honestly speaking, it requires a Feluda to solve the mystery over what actually draws the viewers to the theatres. It���������s not an easy task to make a Feluda. You can���������t keep him stagnantly rooted to a particular time frame but randomly incorporate contemporary elements. But what works in Feluda���������s favour is the power of the stories. Every story has a different feel, a new crime angle. Then, there is a travelogue element to it too and children get so much of information by reading/watching Feluda. Through Feluda, children got to know that there was an artiste by the name of Tintoretor or even got an idea of Kailash. What���������s heartening is that even those children who have not read the book but watched the movie, have come up with requests of wanting to read more Feluda. That movies are returning children to the books is a huge achievement.
You���������ve seen Sabyasachi evolve as Feluda over the years. What new has he brought to the table with Sree Venkatesh Films��������� ���������Royal Bengal Rahasya���������?Benu (Sabyasachi) has always told me that Feluda is his dream role and he has been constantly finetuning himself so that the movies can be more interesting both visually and in terms of content. Being a Nature lover himself, Benu was of a huge help to me, while I was deciding on what kind of things I can show with animals in ���������RBR���������. In the original story, a tiger gets killed and so does a snake. In our country, we can show a man being murdered but it���������s a strict no-no to show an animal getting killed. I accompanied Benu to the forest department office and was overwhelmed to see how much he is respected there.
Does your film suffer since you can���������t show animals being killed?
Not really. In a way, it gives a lesson about the need for conservation of animals. Unlike other stories, ���������RBR��������� is one story where I practically changed very little for adaptation purposes. This movie is also very different in terms of format from the other Feluda films. Usually viewers always know who the criminal is and the film unravels how Feluda cracks the mystery. But in this film, there is no villain as such. It is more of a cerebral mystery.
You���������ve shot in a zamindar���������s house in Dhenkanal. Why did you choose such a location?
Way back in 1993/94, I had shot in the same house for ���������Target���������. This house belongs to RP Singh Deo, a member of politician KP Singh Deo���������s family. It���������s in the middle of nowhere and when I had first read the script, I immediately knew that this house would be the best location for the film. The rest of the shooting was done in North Bengal.
Do you have sleepless nights the day before Feluda releases?
Not sleepless nights but I don���������t get a sound sleep. There is always this apprehension about whether people will like it. I was tense before ���������Gorosthane Sabdhan��������� released simply because it was set completely in Kolkata and also because it was quite verbose. The movie worked and now, the countdown has begun for SVF���������s ���������RBR���������. Venkatesh is a very good producer and I am very happy having worked with this team. Thankfully, with multiplexes running shows from quite early in the morning, one doesn���������t have to wait for too long on the day of the release to get an idea of the audience���������s reaction.
During your umpteen discussions on Feluda with Satyajit Ray, what did the master maker tell you to do and to avoid?
From Baba, I���������ve learnt to make a Feluda that is flabless in terms of narration. You can���������t beat around the bush. There is no room for excesses in Feluda. I have kept ���������RBR��������� under two hours.
While writing Feluda, did Ray ever suffer from a writer���������s block?
There have been very rare occasions when he got stuck while writing a Feluda. He would usually write it at one go. He would pen a rough first draft. Being a whodunit, there would always be a lot of things written on the margins just to remind him where he had inserted the clues of the mystery. If he was happy with the first draft, he would go on to make a fresh copy. My mother, who stills remains an avid reader of detective fiction, gave her expert comments and suggestions to improve the first draft. Once that was taken care of, I would get to read the manuscript. Baba had a very nice handwriting and the excitement of getting to read a Feluda story was immense and that too in the manuscript form.
You haven���������t giving out remake rights of Feluda for the big screen. Do you suffer from a ���������chotto babu being possessive about his Baba��������� syndrome?
(Laughs) Yes. I do become like a chotto babu who is very possessive about his father���������s things. I think, it���������s not needed to be very open when it comes to Feluda and Professor Shanku. I have given out rights for television and plays. Bibhas Chakraborty adapted a Feluda for television that has Soumitra Kaku in the lead. It���������s not that I have always liked the stage adaptations.
How do you express your displeasure then?
I can���������t be rude but I think, they can figure out. Later on, when they again call up to ask for rights, I am not accommodating. Sometimes, I ask them to call up later to avoid.
Is there anything that would have pleasantly surprised Ray had he been alive today?
I think, he would have liked the way I have been treating Feluda. It���������s not easy to adapt a franchise that has reached cult status.
No feature on you is ever complete without a reference to your father. Does that stifle you that your identity is always linked to Ray?
I can do nothing about that. In fact, I like it that way. I can���������t avoid references but I still try to do interesting things in my own way.