Byomkesh Bakshi

Byomkesh Bakshi
Rajit Kapur as Byomkesh Bakshi in the TV series
First appearance	Satyanweshi
Last appearance	Bishupal Bodh
Created by	Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay
Information
Nickname(s)	Satyanweshi
Gender	Male
Occupation	Private investigator
Title	Satyanweshi
Family	Bakshi
Spouse(s)	Satyabati
Children	Khoka
Nationality	Indian

Byomkesh Bakshi (or Byomkesh Baksi or Byomkesh Bakshy) (Bengali: ব্যোমকেশ বক্সী) is a fictional detective in Bengali literature created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.

Character

Byomkesh hated being called a detective. He preferred the term satyanweshi, meaning seeker of truth. Unlike many other fictional detectives, Byomkesh ages, marries, has a son, starts a publishing firm with his assistant-come-chronicler Ajit (he makes a more stable income from this than from his seeking of the truth), buys a house in South Calcutta, and ponders buying a car for his wife Satyabati (note that "satya" occurs here again).^[1] Where he stands out from other legendary detectives like Poirot or Sherlock Holmes is that he is more concerned with truth than with law as evidenced from his cases where he lets the perpetrator die by manipulating the circumstances using their own methods as a redemption and deliverance of justice for victim in absence of evidence as in Balak Jasoos, Ret Ka Daldal and few other cases.

Byomkesh's only addiction is smoking and tea. He has no musical ear to speak of but, like many modern young Bengalis of the time, a passion for football. Like any other Bengali (especially for mohunbagan, as he is a Ghoti) he has a solid grasp over Bengali literature and a working knowledge of the Sanskrit classics from which both he and Ajit quote freely.^[2]

He is mostly portrayed as lean, lanky and a tall gentleman who minds his manners. He is shown with bushy eyebrows which end up almost as unibrow, a vast forehead and a gutting jaw.

Stories

The first story appeared in print in 1932. The stories are chronicled by Ajit, a writer who meets Byomkesh in Satyanweshi.

The books are written in classical Bengali, with a mood of noir — fast, gripping, uncompromising in their portrayal of violence or lust, with touches of wry humour. There are 32 stories in all. Byomkesh gradually ages in them.^[2]

In 1936, in only his tenth outing, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, wanted to retire Byomkesh. He married him off (an almost unheard-of thing for detectives across the world) and thought that was the end of it. He did not write another Byomkesh story for 16 years and settled in Bombay as a writer for Himanshu Roy's Bombay Talkies. But, on a visit to Calcutta, he discovered that Bengalis still hankered for his hero; graciously, he returned to Byomkesh and stayed with him till the end of his life.^[1]

In a 1969 interview, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay worried about Byomkesh — he was now 60 years old (10 years younger than his creator). Though mentally and physically fit, he would like to retire but was helpless as long as a vast number of Bengali readers kept wanting to read more of him. And the author could not let them down.^[1]

List of Stories

Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay wrote 32 Byomkesh stories between 1932 and 1970, with one additional story remaining incomplete at the time of his death. The stories are as follows:^[3][4]

• 1931 Satyanweshi aka The Inquisitor
• 1932 Pother Kanta aka The Gramaphone Pin Mystery
• 1932 Seemant-heera aka The Hidden Heirloom
• 1933 Makorshar Rosh aka The Venom Of The Tarantula
• 1933 Arthamanartham aka Where There's a Will
• 1933 Chorabali aka Quicksand
• 1935 Agnibaan aka Calamity Strikes
• 1935 Uposonghaar aka An Encore for Byomkesh
• 1936 Roktomukhi Neela aka The Deadly Diamond
• 1936 Byomkesh O Boroda aka Byomkesh and Barada
• 1951 Chitrochor aka Picture Imperfect
• 1952 Durgo Rahasyaaka Mystery of the Fortress
• 1953 Chiriyakhana aka The Menagerie
• 1955 Adim Ripu আদিম রিপু
• 1956 Banhi-patanga বহ্নি-পতঙ্গ
• 1956 Rokter Daag রক্তের দাগ
• 1958 Monimondon aka The Jewel Case
• 1959 Amriter Mrityu aka The Death of Amrito
• 1959 Shailo Rahasya aka Phantom Client
• 1960 Achin Pakhi aka The Avenger
• 1961 Kohen Kobi Kalidas aka Thus spoke Kavi Kalidasa
• 1961 Adrishyo Trikon aka The Invisible Triangle
• 1961 Khunji Khunji Nari aka The Will that Vanished
• 1961 Adwitiyo aka "one and only"
• 1963 Mognomoinak মগ্নমৈনাক
• 1963 Dushtochokro aka The Crooked Circle
• 1964 Henyalir Chhondo aka The Rhythm of Riddles
• 1964 Room Nombor Dui aka Room Number 2
• 1965 Chholonar Chhondo aka Man in a Red Coat
• 1967 Shajarur Kanta aka The Quills of the Porcupine
• 1968 Benishonghar বেণীসংহার
• 1969 Lohar Biskut aka Iron Biscuits
• 1970 Bishupal Bodh (incomplete) বিশুপাল বধ (অসমাপ্ত) he^[5]

In other media

Film adaptations

• Chiriyakhana (1967)^[6][7] directed by Satyajit Ray and produced by Harendranath Bhattacharjya of Star Productions was the first screen adaptation of the sleuth's cases. Uttam Kumar played Byomkesh Bakshi while Shailen Mukherjee played Ajit. It boasted an ensemble cast of contemporary actors. Uttam Kumar and director Satyajit Ray won a National Film Award.
• Shajarur Kanta (1974)^[8][9] directed by actress-turned-director Manju Dey and produced by Star Productions was the second film of the Bakshi series. Satindra Bhattacharya replaced Uttam Kumar as Bakshi and Shailen Mukherjee played his role as Ajit.
• Magno Mainak (2009)^[9] directed by Swapan Ghosal and produced by New Wave Communications was the third film of the series. Subhrajit Dutta acted as Bakshi while Rajarshi Mukherjee played Ajit.
• Byomkesh Bakshi (2010)^[9] was the first installment of the Byomkesh film trilogy directed by singer-songwriter-actor-director Anjan Dutt and produced by R P Techvision Pvt Ltd. It was released on 13 August 2010. This movie is based on the novel Adim Ripu. It was scheduled be followed by two film adaptations of Chitrochor and Beni Sanghar.
• Abar Byomkesh (2012)^[10] was the second film adaption of the Byomkesh film trilogy. Abir Chatterjee plays Bakshi while Ushasie Chakraborty plays Satyabati. The character of Ajit is played by Saswata Chatterjee. The movie is adapted from the novel Chitrochor.
• Satyanweshi (2013)^[11][12][13] directed by Rituparno Ghosh. It is adapted from the novel Chorabali. Sujoy Ghosh plays the lead role. The film released on 5 September 2013.
• Byomkesh Phire Elo (2014) is the third film adaptation of the Byomkesh film trilogy by Anjan Dutta. All actors from the previous film reprised their role. It is based on Beni Sanghar.
• Shajarur Kanta is a 2015 film based on the novel of same name. The film stars Dhritiman Chatterjee as Byomkesh Bakshi. Indraneil Sengupta and Konkona Sen Sharma play important roles. The film is directed by Saibal Mitra.^[14][15]
• Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015) was co-produced by Yash Raj Films and directed and co-produced by Dibakar Banerjee.^[16][17][18] The film stars Sushant Singh Rajput as Byomkesh Bakshi. It was slightly based on the novel Satyanweshi.
• Byomkesh Bakshi (2015) is based on the novel Kohen Kobi Kalidas. It is the fourth installment of Anjan Dutt's Byomkesh series. Jisshu Sengupta is seen as Byomkesh in this installment.^[19]
• Har Har Byomkesh (2015) is a Bengali film based on Banhi-patanga. Arindam Sil is the director where Abir Chatterjee as Byomkesh and Ritwick Chakraborty as Ajit. The producer is Shree Venkatesh Films and Surinder Films.
• Byomkesh O Chiriyakhana (2016) is a Bengali film based on the story Chiriyakhana.

Radio adaptations

The Sunday Suspense series of 98.3 Radio Mirchi (Kolkata) adapted total seven novels of Byomkesh Bakshi for audio stories which include Satyanweshi, Makorshar Rosh, Agnibaan, Roktomukhi Neela, Khunji Khunji Nari, Adwitiyo and Lohar Biscuit.

Television adaptations

• In the early 1980s Kolkata Doordarshan produced several episodes of Byomkesh Bakshi where Ajoy Ganguly acted as Byomkesh.
• Byomkesh Bakshi (1993) directed by Basu Chatterjee was the critically acclaimed television adaptation of the series. Actor Rajit Kapur played the role of Byomkesh Bakshi, for which he was highly praised. Ajit was played by K.K. Raina and Satyabati was played by Sukanya Kulkarni who was the first actress to play the character. The series had 32 episodes, aired on DD 1 Season 1 in 1993 and Season 2 in 1997.^[20]
• Byomkesh Bakshi (2004) directed by Swapan Ghoshal was the second television adaptation of the series also aired on Doordarshan. Actor Sudip Mukherjee debuted with the role of Byomkesh Bakshi. Debdut Ghosh played the role of Ajit while Satyaboti was played by Maitreyi Mitra.
• Byomkesh (2007) was also directed by Swapan Ghosal, who collaborated with Tara Muzik (a private Bengali T. V. channel). Actor Saptarshi Roy has played Bakshi while Ajit and Satyaboti were played by two lesser-known actors.
• A 2014 TV series named Byomkesh airing on Colors Bangla, actor Gaurav Chakrabarty played the role of Byomkesh.

Legacy

• Byomkesh Bakshi was introduced to the Indian national audience in 1993 through the Doordarshan serial of the same name, directed by Basu Chatterjee. The serial was immensely popular and has since been rerun by Doordarshan many times. All the episodes are available on YouTube, and are extremely popular. Certainly for many people who watched the serial when it was first broadcast, the actor Rajit Kapur has become identified with the fictional Bengali detective for all time to come.^[1]
• In 2014 film Doorbeen, an aged Byomkesh Bakshi is portrayed by Soumitra Chatterjee. The film is not based on any of Byomkesh Bakshi stories, it is a spoof film and a crossover between another Bengali sleuth Feluda.^[21]
• A 21st-century Byomkesh (portrayed by Sushant Singh Rajput) has appeared in C.I.D. on 30 March 2015 along with Ajit (portrayed by Anand Tiwari), during the promotion of Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!.^[22]

Further reading

• The Bakshiphiles : India’s most popular detective now dominates screens in The Caravan
• The Curious Case of Byomkesh Bakshi in Live Mint
• The Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University-Assistant Professor Pinaki Roy's The Manichean Investigators: A Postcolonial and Cultural Rereading of the Sherlock Holmes and Byomkesh Bakshi Stories (New Delhi: Sarup and Sons, 2008, ISBN 978-81-7625-849-4) offers a postcolonial re-reading of the different Byomkesh Bakshi stories by Saradindu Bandyopadhyay.

See also

• Byomkesh Bakshi in other media
• Kiriti Roy
• Feluda
• Feluda in film
• Professor Shonku
• Kakababu
• Kakababu in other media
• Private investigator
• Culture of Bengal
• Culture of West Bengal
• Bengali literature
• History of Bengali literature
• List of Bengali-language authors (chronological)

References

1. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/XoRJXBeDXqzmkOjxPuCuHI/The-curious-case-of-Byomkesh-Bakshi.html The Curious Case of Byomkesh Bakshi
2. http://scroll.in/article/701691/byomkesh-bakshi-from-books-to-movies-five-things-to-remember
3. Bandyopādhyāẏa, Śaradindu (1995). Byomakeśa samagra. Ananda Publishers Pvt. Limited. p. Contents. ISBN 978-81-7215-355-7.
4. "Stories". Byomkesh.com - ব্যোমকেশ.কম.
5. http://classicmysteryhunt.blogspot.com/p/byomkesh-bakshi.html
6. Bhattacharya Supriya (1 September 2009). Impressions 8, 2/E. Pearson Education India. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-81-317-2777-5. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
7. Andrew Robinson (1989). Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye. University of California Press. pp. 231–. ISBN 978-0-520-06946-6. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
8. "Sajaraur Kanta". Complete index to world film. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
9. Chatterjee, Shoma (24 May 2014). "Mystery Trail". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
10. "Abar Byomkesh". Telegraph, Calcutta. 31 March 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
11. "Sujoy Ghosh to not act in any film after Rituparno's 'Satyanweshi'". IBNLIve. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
12. "Rituparno Ghosh's cinematographer, not Sujoy Ghosh to complete Satyanweshi". Hindustan Times. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
13. "Satyanweshi poster: Sujoy Ghosh looks like a real detective!". Bollywood Life. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
14. "Another Byomkesh Bakshi mystery - The Indian Express". The Indian Express.
15. "Konkona Sen Sharma-Indraneil Sengupta to star in new Byomkesh Bakshi film - The Indian Express". The Indian Express.
16. "Sushant Singh Rajput to play Detective Byomkesh Bakshi". June 28, 2013. NDTV. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
17. "Sushant Singh Rajput in Yash Raj Film's Detective Byomkesh Bakshi". June 27, 2013. Indian Express. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
18. Ankita R Kanabar (24 April 2014). "The date shuffle". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
19. "Jisshu as Byomkesh?". The Times of India.
20. shahabkalim-1. "Byomkesh Bakshi (TV Series 1993– )". IMDb.
21. "Doorbeen movie review". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
22. 21st Century Byomkesh? Sushant Singh Rajput, Dibakar Banerjee on the Possibilities of Time Travel