The Mystery Files
Director Dibakar Banerjee is ready with his next movie ‘Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!’ starring Sushant Singh Rajput and is keen to show the movie to Zorawar Chand Bakhshi, who is a retired soldier of the Indian Army and has the distinction of being India’s most decorated General.
Having made films that looked into contemporary social issues such as Khosla Ka Ghosla! and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! among others, the director says Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! is purely an entertainter. “I know that probably a lot of the die hard film watchers, who would love to put me in a slot, would resent me for foraying into something, which is purely a yarn, to entertain and enjoy a whodunit. So that’s the challenge,” he says.Though Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! is Dibakar’s first film to release in co-production with Yash Raj Films, this
Though Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! is Dibakar’s first film to release in co-production with Yash Raj Films, this is in fact their second collaboration. The first, Titli, is yet to release.
Interestingly, Detective… was the second film that Banerjee wanted to make after Khosla Ka Ghosla!. “I don’t think I had the wisdom to pull off something as big as Byomkesh Bakshi, as a period film, a whodunit, and yet at the same time have my own take on it. Today, I have the experience to make Detective…for 30 per cent lesser than any other producer in Bollywood,” he adds.
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Coming from a design background, Dibakar enjoyed recreating old Calcutta of the’40s with its nostalgic charm. The filmmaker clarifies that if people are expecting a word-to-word translation of the detective book series, then they are in for a shock. “When you adapt a book into a film, the material has to be reinvented. So, I am giving
you the essence of what I think is Byomkesh,” he says. Speaking about actor Sushant Singh Rajput, Banerjee says, “Sushant is more obsessive than me. He wouldn’t sleep at night, instead he would rehearse. He lost 12 kgs, changed his physicality and face. We accentuated his broken nose, gave him a darker look and he went through the roughest time on sets.”
Talking about Swastika Mukerjee’s role as the film’s femme fatale, Banerjee explains, “She is an essential phase that Byomkesh goes through to learn more about life.”
Source:: Indian Express
