Byomkesh Bakshi down the years: Mahanayak Uttam Kumar to new-age superstar Dev

There is something Byomkesh Bakshi that most actors find it irresistible portraying the character on screen. It is a challenge most actors in Bengali cinema, from Mahanayak Uttam Kumar to new-age superstar Dev, have readily taken up, given the chance.

Every Byomkesh adventure that author Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay wrote has a layered storyline, bursting with complex relationships and sexual politics. Set in and around pre-Independence era, these stories form a profound commentary of the socio-politics of the times, too, and open up the scope for patriotism and heroism, besides setting up an intriguing story of crime and suspense.

With time, the definition of heroism on screen keeps changing. Byomkesh Bakshi, too, has evolved, to keep pace with the shifting taste of every new generation. Each actor, who has left his mark playing Byomkesh, managed to do so by bringing something special to the role.

Here’s looking at the most prominent Byomkesh Bakshi performers down the decades, and what makes them special:

UTTAM KUMAR

(in Satyajit Ray’s film Chiriyakhana)

Chiriyakhana (The Menagerie) in 1967 was the second film where the Mahanayak of Bengali cinema, Uttam Kumar, would collaborate with master filmmaker Satyajit Ray. The duo had worked together the year before in Naayak, co-starring Sharmila Tagore.

The idea of watching Uttam Kumar as Byomkesh Bakshi was an intriguing one for the actor’s huge fan base. Kumar, for one, was known to add signature charisma to his roles and interpret characters to suit his style of acting, as superstars anywhere across generations are known to do. Ray’s interpretation of Byomkesh Bakshi was expected to accommodate the Mahanayak’s image. Upon release, Kumar garnered critical acclaim for the way he moulded his image to become Byomkesh Bakshi. Retaining his hallmark dialogue delivery style, Kumar reworked his body language to seamlessly blend into character, proving the burden of stardom needn’t always come in the way of a role. Uttam Kumar’s Byomkesh was suitably enigmatic, toplining one of the most complex Byomkesh stories author Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay wrote.

Chiriyakhana, being a whodunit, is among Ray’s more mainstream attempts, although the original story of the same name had enough complicated characters and relationships beyond its deceptive plot and suspense drama for Ray to play with, while setting up a moody screenplay for Uttam Kumar’s Byomkesh Bakshi. Upon release, many purists were unhappy with Ray’s idea to tweak the original storyline in places. The film, however, would go on to win National Awards — for Ray as Best Director and Uttam Kumar as Best Actor.

RAJIT KAPUR

(in Basu Chatterjee’s Doordarshan series Byomkesh Bakshi)

This was the performance and show that made Byomkesh Bakshi a household name all over the nation, way back in the nineties. Those were the days watching Doordarshan was middle-class India’s favourite pastime. When the first season of Basu Chatterjee’s Hindi series titled Byomkesh Bakshi launched on DD in 1993, Rajit Kapur’s understated act as the pre-Independence Satyanweshi came across as something novel for couch potatoes all across. Bespectacled and clad in pristine dhoti-kurta, Kapur as Byomkesh Bakshi captured the Bhadralok charm implicit in the character, and came across as a departure from the usual definition of screen detectives that the Indian audience was habituated watching till then.

The first season of Byomkesh Bakshi, launched in 1993, had 13 episodes. Kapur and Chatterjee would return with a 19-episode season two in 1997. Despite appearing to lack polish technically by today’s standards, episodes of the series continue to draw ample hits on YouTube for Chatterjee’s taut storytelling and for the assuredness with which Rajit Kapur nails the protagonist in each episode.

ABIR CHATTERJI

(in the films Byomkesh Bakshi, Abar Byomkesh, Byomkesh Phire Elo, Har Har Byomkesh, Byomkesh Pawrbo, Bidaay Byomkesh, Byomkesh Gotro, Byomkesh Hatyamancha)

You could say he is GenNow Bengal’s heartthrob Byomkesh. At a time when multiple actors have been trying out the character, Abir Chatterji has done it eight times over the last decade and scored well every time.

Abir Chatterji’s execution of Byomkesh Bakshi sees the actor blend trademark suavity with the classic gravity that being Byomkesh on screen demands. Chatterji’s Byomkesh is contemporary in spirit, yet vintage in persona. The actor made his mark playing the sleuth for the first time in the 2010 film, Byomkesh Bakshi, which was the second release of his career as a leading man. The next decade would see him essay the role regularly, in Abar Byomkesh (Byomkesh Once Again), Byomkesh Phire Elo (Byomkesh Returns), Har Har Byomkesh, Byomkesh Pawrbo (The Byomkesh Episode), Bidaay Byomkesh (Farewell Byomkesh), Byomkesh Gotro (The Clan Of Byomkesh) and last year’s Byomkesh Hatyamancha (Byomkesh And The Curtain Call).

SUJOY GHOSH

(in Rituparno Ghosh’s film Satyanweshi)

Few outside Bengal would know that Sujoy Ghosh, acclaimed director of Kahaani and Badla, played Byomkesh Bakshi in Rituparno Ghosh’s 2013 release, Satyanweshi (The Seeker Of Truth). This was the late Rituparno Ghosh’s last full-length feature release. The director had shot almost all of the film before his untimely death, and the few remaining scenes were canned by his team.

The film is based on Chorabaali (Quicksand), one of the most engaging Byomkesh mysteries that Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay wrote. As Byomkesh Bakshi, Sujoy Ghosh maintained the balance of gravitas and humour that defines the popular sleuth.

SOUMITRA CHATTOPADHYAY

(in the film Durbeen)

The iconic Soumitra Chattopadhyay is known the world over for his avatar as Feluda in the two Satyajit Ray classics, Sonar Kella and Joy Baba Felunath. Few are aware he essayed Byomkesh Bakshi, too, in a film little known outside Bengal. Director Swagato Chowdhury’s children’s film of 2014 titled Durbeen (The Telescope) was about a little boy’s adventure that involves Byomkesh Bakshi (played by Chattopadhyay) and Feluda (Sabyasachi Chakrabarty). Although the film was quite amateurish, two great actors reprising the two great fictional detectives was a casting coup in every way, enough to excite the audience.

GAURAV CHAKRABARTY

(in the TV series Byomkesh)

His father, acclaimed actor Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, was Feluda on Bangla screen for nearly two decades, so it must have seemed natural when Gaurav Chakrabarty took to playing the titular detective in the 2014 television series, Byomkesh, on Colors Bangla. Gaurav Chakrabarty starred in 33 Byomkesh adventures spread over 155 episodes. He added a quiet and understated impact to the character, and with actress Riddhima Ghosh, who is his wife in real life, playing Byomkesh’s better half Satyabati, the chemistry on screen looked all too real.

SUSHANT SINGH RAJPUT

(in Dibakar Banerjee’s film Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!)

Sushant Singh Rajput’s has been the rockstar performance among all actors who’ve played Byomkesh Bakshi (spelled Bakshy in the film, for extra impact). Dibakar Banerjee’s 2015 release has been one of the most experimental Byomkesh films anywhere. With the 2015 release, Banerjee tried doing for Byomkesh Bakshi what the Guy Ritchie films starring Rober Downey Jr. did for Arthur Conan Doyle’s British detective Sherlock Holmes. The Bollywood production was based on two of Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay’s stories — Satyanweshi and Arthamanartham — and Banerjee interpreted his reworked screenplay as a fastpaced action thriller.

Rajput brought alive Byomkesh Bakshi with originality, blending a wry sense of humour with the essential intensity. The late actor looked quite the classic style icon sporting dhotis with gelled hair and a thin moustache.

JISSHU SENGUPTA

(in the films Byomkesh Bakshi, Byomkesh O Chiriyakhana, Byomkesh O Agnibaan)

Jisshu Sengupta, who has been giving Bollywood and South films a shot for a while now, tried his hand at playing Byomkesh Bakshi through three films directed by Anjan Dutt in the mid-2010s. Sengupta first appeared as the titular sleuth in the 2015 release, Byomkesh Bakshi, and then reprised the role in Byomkesh O Chiriyakhana (Byomkesh And The Menagerie) and Byomkesh O Agnibaan (Byomkesh And The Flaming Arrows) over the next two years. The response to Sengupta’s efforts was mixed. Many felt the actor, often said to reveal influences of Uttam Kumar’s style of acting, was merely trying to do the same in his Byomkesh films. Director Dutt, known to make socio-political comments through his works, left a germane message or two in each of the films.

ANIRBAN BHATTACHARYA

(in the web series Byomkesh)

Anirban Bhattacharya has emerged as the favourite of lovers of alt-cinema in Bengal, and many feel his performance as Byomkesh Bakshi has been a cut above most others who attempted the role in recent times.

Bhattacharya has way of making every role distinct with his strong screen presence, which blends intensity and restraint with an understated air of wit. These have been traits that the audience also associate with the character of Byomkesh Bakshi, which has made the actor a recurring contender for the role in the OTT space. In fact, the first teaser poster of his upcoming adventure, titled Byomkesh Durgo Rahasya, was released around the same time that Bengal superstar Dev released his film, Byomkesh O Durgo Rahasya, a few weeks back. Since Bhattacharya’s series and Dev’s film are based on the same Byomkesh story, it has unleashed a social media war.

Bhattacharya’s Byomkesh Bakshi sojourn started in 2017 and has so far seen seven seasons. Byomkesh Durgo Rahasya, directed by Srijit Mukherji, will mark season eight of the showon Hoichoi.

PARAMBRATA CHATTOPADHYAY

(in the film Satyanweshi Byomkesh)

Parambrata Chattopadhyay played Byomkesh Bakshi in Sayantan Ghosal’s 2019 film based on Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay’s story Magna Mainak, a fiery tale that combines the rage of love, lust and betrayal with the spirit of heroism and patriotism.

The actor invested his all into bringing alive Byomkesh on screen, and it shows in his brilliant performance. However, Chattopadhyay’s boyish demeanour comes in the way, all the more considering Anjan Dutt’s screenplay is layered with deep political commentary.

DEV

(in Byomkesh O Durgo Rahasya)

New-age superstar Dev manages to interpret Byomkesh Bakshi in a way that the character remains true to author Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay’s original vision, and yet packs the punch that starry fans of the actor expect.

Byomkesh O Durgo Rahasya (Byomkesh And The Mystery Of The Fort) opened on August 11 this year. The film directed by commercial heavyweight Birsa Dasgupta retains the core plot but adds enough masala to suit Dev’s image, including a couple of high-voltage stunt-and-chase set pieces and a pulsating sequence involving hero Byomkesh Bakshi and a venomous snake.

Without doubt, this has been one of the most entertaining Byomkesh adventures ever, although a bit larger-than-life in spirit. Dev, who co-produces the film, has opted for Rukmini Maitra, with whom he is in a relationship, as Byomkesh’s wife Satyabati, and the duo’s chemistry works well for the film.

(Byomkesh O Durgo Rahasya opened in theatres on August 11)

Vinayak Chakravorty is a critic, columnist and journalist who loves to write on popular culture.