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Director Sandip Ray opens up 0n why he chose Satyajit Ray's'BadshahiAngti ';":-,. t*:;' {to reboot the Feluda series, his lead actor, shooting

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Pay says he had to take a few crsative liberties while adaptingBadshahi Angti: "This story was pub-Iished in Sandesh (1966), which baba,tsed to edit. It is diffrcult to replicatethe era. But I have tried to retain thelook and the feel: The Lucknow of t}te1960s has changed beyond recognition.Therefore, we lilmed in older parts ofthe city which baba mentioned in thestory We shot extensively for three

. weeks in places like Bara lmarnbaraand other heritage sites. I w'as sw-'prised to hear people still talkingabout how baba had shot Slatranj I{e:Khilari thQre. Here, I have to mentionan interesting anecdote... While I waslocation-hunting in Hazratganj. Ifound an old book depot and quite' liked the place. After a litUe chitchatwith the store manage4 I wasinformed that baba, when he wasseven-eight years old, used to visit theshop to read eomic books. We had rela-tives there... So, when the man cameto know that I was planning to shoot*rere, he welcomed me with openarms. Latex, I canned a few scenes atthe sho11 and wasn-t charged a pennylWe even shot for a week in Haridwar"

Well aware that Bomkesh Bakshistories have been lapped up by bothBollywood and Tbltwood, Ray is still

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I he countdown has begun. In aI few davs. the lid will be liftedI otr BadshnhiAwi-morher

instalment of Sandip Rayis Feludaseries. But this time,around, it's AbtChatterjee, who willbe seen intheroleof the eponymous detective andSouravDas as his cousin, Tbpshd.

Badshahi Aneti is one of the earlyadventwes of Feluda - set muchbefore talmohan Ganguly becarne anally to the sleuth. But that is not whyRay chqse this story for film adapta-tion. He says,"'We all lorow Benu(Sabsachi Chataabarty) has done awonderftrl job as Feluda. But then hewas not getting any younger One dawhile we were shooting Royal BerUalRohosn in 2011, I e4nessed my con-cern. And it was Benu who suggested'Abir's name. Butatthat time Abirwastoo young to play Feluda. Therefore, {'had.to ranap up a few mort fllms withBenu in quick succession. And nowthat Abir has matured e4ough to slipinto Feluda's shoes, I thought, whynot? Also, as I wai planning to rebootthe series, I could only think ofBadshahi Aneti; it was the first Feludanovel writtenbybaba andl love it. Thestorycaptures thetime when Feluda isbeginning to shine as a detective. Hestill doesn't have a visiting card andhis gquation with Ttrpshe is just abrotherly bonding. Tbpshe is youngand looks up to Feluda but there's alot of leg-pulling too. Both beingkeen observers,' the} complenienteachother."

Content with the way the fllm hasshaped uO Ray adds, 'Abir suits thecharacter well and has that spark - arare combination of intelligence,courage and sense of humour -whirh separates Feluda from the rest. Iknow.people are used to seeing him asBomkesh Bakshi, xtdBoml*sh PhireE/o is also releasing on the same day

in Lucknow and moreiri no mood to cat€r to the nationalaudience. "Oh, I am a Bomkesh fan.But then, there's a familial bond withFeluda (smiles). If you remembeq Ionce made Klssa Katmand.u Ka forDoordarshan, way back ilI 1986, withSashi Kapoor in the lead. Thoueh itwas appreciated in Delhi and Mumbai,people rejected it in Bengal. The audi-ence could not accept Shashi's stoutfigure against the athtetic Feluda. I arnnot going to ' repeat the mistake.Howeve4, I am open to ideas. If anyother filmmaker - like 'Dibakar

Balerjee, who larows his subject andthe lalguage, is making DetectiueByomkesh Bakhi - car, do justice toFeluda then probably I won't mind.Despite Sherlock Holmes's variousmetamorphosed avatars that we get tosee on TV these'days, Jeremy Brett wasHolmes incarnated and remains mya]l-time favourite. One has to remem-be4 Feluda still doesn't carry a mobilephone. He is a true-blue Bengali atheart. Personally I don't want to dilutehis'Bangaliana' by fying somethingdifferent," concludes Ray

Bodslnshi Angti, produced by ShraVenkalpsh Films, rel,eases onDecember 19.

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tm[rniled in il murdgr mystsrrfThe cast of AnjanDutt's Boml<esh

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he super-sleuth ofBengal, Bomkesh Bak-shi, is back in action,

arid this time he is busy solvingthe mystery surrounding themurder of the affluent BeniProsad. Everyone in the palatialfamily mansion is a suspect,as the detective employs hisunique ways to sniff out themurderer'. in Anjan Dutt'sBomkesh Phire Elp. CT caughtup with the actors of the film,who told us about their experi-ences working in the film andthe characters they portrayHere's what they had to say..

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myftird Bomkesh film asAit,fiough l'llnot be helping Byomkesh solve tE murder. Abir is superb in fiis film, which, I

hink is Anjanda's best Bomkesh till date.

Moreove[ Benisanghar, he novel whichwas adapted for tis film, is my hvouriteBomkesh mystery

. ': . . . ' For he first time, I

am playing an out-an-out dafl( cfiaracterIhe audience will be surprised to see

me! lplay Beni Prosad's alcoholic son-in-law wfio is aho inb races and wom-en! His mannerism and body language

arc sure b arouse suspicion. I feel fiis is

Anjan Dutt's best Bomkesh film till date.

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play Gayitri, Beni

daughter. Given heralcoholic, womanizinghusband, the only bitof solace in life comesfrom her daughtelplayed by Ena Saha.

i*ilxlffffi"i" IProsad just ahead othis death and so, sheis also a prime suspectin the murder mystery.That apart, it was apleasure to work withAnian Dutt, who is asuper-cool director.

rSatyajit Ray iniAngti; (above)icate the scene

; r,'ril.'i:'.r . : I playAjoy,theeldestson of the house and atheatreenthusiast. But my fathe4 Beni Prosad, is always up in arms against mylove for.theatre and one day, he gets murdered. Since we were alwayscrossing swords, I end up being one of the prime suspects. Anjanda hasdone a commendable job, and l.feel this will be much better than the pasttwo Bomkesh films.

'' ' : lt was a sheer delight to workwih Anlan Dutt, my youfi icon Second-

ry, fm a great tan of Bomkesh. I play adishnt relative of Beni Prosad who is

.mudt better ofi tran he ofter familymembers. lltas aslcd not b shave

firougtnut the film and my daracter'sbody larguage also arouses suspicion.

'., , 'i. :i., This is my first Bomkeshfilm. I play Medini, a girl from Biharwho works as a cook in Aioyda'shouse. She, too, becomes a suspectwhen.the head of the house in whichshe works gets murdered. From bodylanguage to dialect, I had to changeeverything t0 essay this character.

ffiff,&!*:ii {.:i':.'-:-: i-il-1.iir.:::, tt's my tnirOBomkesh film and I can only wish threecheers for it! I hope the people who hadloved me as Bomkesh will appreciate thisfilm too. ln this film Bomkesh doesn:t takeAjit's help in solVing the case. So, thewhole responsibility is on his shoulders!

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