Byomkesh Bakshi
First, we must remember that the protagonist is a character fairly
well known as a Bengali detective. He was quite famous in the forties.
Second,
many other directors have brought him to life with various degrees of success.
Third, this edition was directed by Dibakar Banerjee.
The film opens into Calcutta of the 1940s with World War II
happening in the background. The Japanese are next door trying to gain a
foothold here. The British are the masters. The Chinese are smuggling in opium
with impunity. The poor Indian might even forget he is in his own motherland. Very
skillfully, the movie gets the audience into this milieu and then suddenly, as
if in a fast moving roller coaster ride, we zip and zap through so many events
and characters and violence and gore that it is hard to breathe. It is hard to
dwell on what is going on in the detective’s mind. So, by the end of it, I was
almost thankful that it ended. Just like Byomkesh himself, I too, am queasy
about too much blood flowing all over.
But, however the director tried to portray his detective and tell his story, Sushant Singh Rajput came away with top honours.
