Neel Dutta Interviews Dad Anjan Dutta On Byomkesh Bakshi - Film by Kaustav Ray, Owner at RP Techvision

NEEL DUTT INTERVIEWS DAD ANIAN DUTTJUST FORt2
{eel: What's the appeal of BYomkesh

lakshi as a character to you? Were you
"lways fascinated by him?
,njan: My love for crime fiction started
dth James Hadley Chase, and then I got
rto Ra5.,rnond Chandlel Dashiell
-ammett.. . characters like Philip Marlowe
ere fascinating and I found an interest in
,engali crime fiction.... When I started
eading Bengali mystery stories, the
haracter that impressed me the most was
lyomkesh Bakshi, because here was an
xtremely settled married man in an
rdinary set-up, not a lone4 not a maverick,
ut a domesticated person who is solving
lysteries of a very dark world, a postndependent Bengal which is collapshg...
]rere's loss of moralibt And he is
;onfronting big-time criminals, fighting
sophisticated, twisted minds and seeking
the truth. That excited me. In the context ol
Bengali crime fiction, Byomkesh Bakshi is
the best tletective, the most well-written, and
far superior than anyone else.
What according to you are the most

important qualities of Byomkesh?
His deep-rooted sense of moratity his
instincts, his ethics, confidence, courage.. '
carry a gun, doesn't have a gun
licence. All private eyes are searching for
the truth but what Saradindu
(Bandopadhyay writer) has done is, when
the exposition happens not only is the killer
caughtbut also society is exposed.
t
,
(
t
I,""*.;
,**#;ffiffiE*'
Post-Byomkesh, when ! went back to my own films there wasn't

that huge rush among the audienee which pnoved a bulk of my
audience had moved away to something else. So itrs up to me now
to get them back - Anian
went back to my own films there wasn't that
huge rush amongthe audience which proved
a bulk of my audience had moved away to
something else. So it's up to me now to get
them back. I took a risk, and lost out. PostByomkesh, only Raniana... was successful.
Maybe the )'ttppie peopie have sought out
,t.
Abir giving 3'ou the distinctive

quality from the beeinning?
Was
otherfilmmakers.
From the beginning his instincts were okay but the confidence rvas perhaps missing, so
a lot of people felt Ajit (Saswata Chatterjee)
took over in the flust Byomkesh fi1m. As we
progressed to the second film Abir improved
and in the third one he stands hugely strong.
He would almost fuctate his own actions
wheh he would come on the sets. I never told
him anf.thing. In Byomkesh Phire Elo,he
was deciding on his own what to do. Abir
was just so confident in this film.
ByomkeshfiIm?
think it was rea-lly Abir's decision to bat his

last innings hugely well. He was hitting so
many sixes! For his last Byomkesh, Abir was
absolutely stunning, and I'm grateful that he
did that. He could havejust done hisjob and
left. But he didn't do that. He really batted
well, and I was also desperate to bat along, so
was the cinematographer (Indranil
Mukherjee)... even you (Neel) as a music
director improved on the score.
I
WiIl t}re Byomkesh franchise miss Abir?
Yes. but we have to fight that. Filally it's an

' actor's decision anarl cannorchaHenge that
decision. He has playedhis innings superbly
and left it. Now, it's up to our abilities and
my new Byomkesh and new

andbreakthe image.
Ajitto fight this
The Byomkesh stories have a historical
backdrop. How tlid You go about
capturing the historical essence?

See, I bought seven stories.
And I followed a.
chronology I could not create the 1940s,

because a Bengali film's budget doesn't
allow you to do so. We worked within
limitations and it was a huge challenge for
us to create the period. The film is set in the
1960s. I placed it in 1968-1969. The
Communist party is breaking down.. . it had
to have a historical context. The first
Byomkesh fiIm was set in 1962, and I think
I'11end in 1976 when people were still
wearing dhotis.
d
}I
v
he doesn't
Did Abir put in something extra

knowing this woultl be his last
Why do you think the audience identifies
withByomkesh?
Because
of a certain inherent strength of the
character, and it asserts that Bengalis can be

very courageous, strong... solve crimes, and
fight. Byomkesh and Feluda give Bengalis the
backbone they sometimes miss.
g,
,s
,-*
Why are you so easily accessible in social

media, mostfy on Facebook?
I've always tried to be with the times. Now I
Abir Chatteriee in BYomkesh Phire

E othat releases on December 19
can ignore it and use it only for my benefit or I

cal participate in it and try to use it in trying
very interesting, witfy sharp dialo8ues.

The voice-overs of Aiit had to be literary
and modern. Saradindu's dialogues are
very good. So I took various dialogues from
different Byomkesh stories, and put them
into the script. For writing dialogues, I
But do your fans take it in the proper
went back to other Byomkesh stories for

catchlines, wisecracks.
to communicate and connect with mY

audience. . . fy to use it as an adda, keep the
chat going. I'm using it not just to promote my
work. I'm using it to interact generall-v and to
give people an idea of who I am-
spirit?
Your films Iike Madly Bangalee,

Ranj ana Ami Aar Ashbona hute a
Only 30 per cent do. The rest are talking

nonsense. I have to accept that. But that 30 pe
cent is making a difference to me, and I'd cli-it
on to that.
Because they were mY scriPts and mY
Bengali fllntmakers are coming to the

fore with tlifferentkinds of work;Du?rot
certain style. Why not incorporate that

when you are filming Byoukesh?
stories, and I was entitled to my style. But
whenever I'm taking somebody else's work,
I think it is important for me to understand
and create a styie that goes with the stor5t
For the first Byomkesh, I wanted to do it
with cinematographer Avik Mukherjee
and we met in Peter Cat. Avik told me, 'You

cannot have film noir.' I wanted fil-rn noir,
long shadows, long coats.. . Avik
categorically told me noir doesn't exist in
India.... Then I sat with Indranil and we
came to a decision that we wanted the look
and feel of '60s Bengali cinema. I wanted to
do it
like a typical Bengali fllm.
think you've lost out on yonr

audience for the non-Byomkesh fiIms
because of Byomkesh?
I don't know... post-Byomkesh, when I
Do you
think this willbringin
a change?
It should. We should agAin change, and not 1
happy with what we have. We must get new
actors. Bengali fi1ms need new faces, new
heroes and heroines. It's high time the
directors realise that. They have to get new
people. It's up to us to rejuvenate it... we ne
more writers, and collaborations.
We have closed our eyes and ears to what is
happening in the rest of India. Our Bengal
audience has also lost interest. Maybe
because good films are not happening. You
have to accept the fact. Maybe my last few
films weren't good enough, that's why peol
didn't watch them. Maybe I'm getting stuc
repeating myself, I need to break out of th
everybody needs to break out of that comj
zone. If we don't ruffle each other's feathe
then the fun is gone.

Neel Dutta Interviews Dad Anjan Dutta On Byomkesh Bakshi - Film by Kaustav Ray, Owner at RP Techvision

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NEEL DUTT INTERVIEWS DAD ANIAN DUTTJUST FORt2

{eel: What's the appeal of BYomkesh

What according to you are the most

Post-Byomkesh, when ! went back to my own films there wasn't

Abir giving 3'ou the distinctive

think it was rea-lly Abir's decision to bat his

WiIl t}re Byomkesh franchise miss Abir?

Yes. but we have to fight that. Filally it's an

my new Byomkesh and new

Ajitto fight this

The Byomkesh stories have a historical

backdrop. How tlid You go about

capturing the historical essence?

chronology I could not create the 1940s,

Did Abir put in something extra

Why do you think the audience identifies

of a certain inherent strength of the

character, and it asserts that Bengalis can be

Why are you so easily accessible in social

Abir Chatteriee in BYomkesh Phire

can ignore it and use it only for my benefit or I

very interesting, witfy sharp dialo8ues.

But do your fans take it in the proper

went back to other Byomkesh stories for

to communicate and connect with mY

Your films Iike Madly Bangalee,

Only 30 per cent do. The rest are talking

Because they were mY scriPts and mY

Bengali fllntmakers are coming to the

certain style. Why not incorporate that

with cinematographer Avik Mukherjee

and we met in Peter Cat. Avik told me, 'You

like a typical Bengali fllm.

think you've lost out on yonr

think this willbringin

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