Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! An unintended parody

The dhoti-clad bhadralok (Bengali gentleman) is nearly as dead as a dodo, but the detective in the same attire suffers from no such threat of mortality. For generations of Bengalis who grew up on Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay's rich and varied oeuvre, Satyanweshi (the seeker of truth) Byomkesh Bakshi’s appeal lies in nostalgia and a collective yearning for, what some might call, Bengal’s Golden Age. Byomkesh epitomised the now-extinct virtues of a race that had once taken the lead in India’s ‘violent’ struggle against the British. What defined him and set him apart from other sleuths in popular culture was his Bengaliness — the pure, unalloyed type, which went beyond his appearance and permeated his character. His closest rival in terms of popularity, Satyajit Ray’s Feluda, aka Pradosh C Mitter — an Anglicised twist to the Bengali Mitra — is, on the other hand, a fine portrait of Bengali cosmopolitanism.

Eighty-three years after Byomkesh first appeared on print in 1932, his USP still draws people to the big screen. And the latest film by Dibakar Banerjee, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!, too, was a crowd-puller, though it has had mixed reviews. Banerjee claims in an interview with film critic Anupama Chopra that his Byomkesh, played by Sushant Singh Rajput, is “darker and more romantic at the same time”. As a filmmaker, he is well within his right to imbue a character with different shades, but it has to be convincing, especially because Byomkesh’s image is enshrined in the minds of his fans. Had Banerjee succeeded, it would have led to some radical interpretations of a fictional icon in future. The way Sherlock Holmes has endeared himself to a generation hooked to the mobile phone.

Sushant Singh’s eponymous role as the young, inexperienced detective seems like a parody of the original. Banerjee shows a youthful Byomkesh as garrulous, running around like a headless chicken, and in the throes of hormonal outrage. His Satyanweshi doesn’t carry the slightest trace of enigma, and Singh’s attempt at being introspective is rather forced. Sharadindu was a master of understatement, as Banerjee rightly points out in the same interview, but where is that economy of expression in his film? There are way too many characters, an attempt at too many twists, and finally what we get as a finale is a Tarantino-esque ending with bodies strewn around — so much for original interpretation.

Sushant Singh clearly needed more mentoring. He claimed to have spent two years with the character, yet appeared ill-at-ease with the Bengali way of life. He should have been asked to tone down his histrionics because a Hindi film need not follow a typical trajectory to play to the gallery. If Banerjee was so keen on showing the nervous energy of a greenhorn Byomkesh Bakshi, he should have thought of subtle means to get the message across.

But, the director gets top grades for the backdrop he had so painstakingly created. The 1940s Calcutta never looked so alive and convincing. The Calcutta I grew up in in the Eighties hasn’t changed much, apart from a few highrises here and there, but, it is far removed from the city that Sharadindu had portrayed vividly for readers and Banerjee reproduces faithfully for viewers. The background score was a welcome departure from convention, but, the narrative and the protagonist couldn't rise to the challenge. If Banerjee is so keen on showcasing Byomkesh to the world, he will have to increasingly engage with his roots to find a way that will liberate the sleuth from the mould that Sharadindu had envisioned.

The author is senior assistant editor with dna