Thursday, April 2, 2015

VenuG Presents: Detective Byomkesh Bakshy. Expect The Unexpected. An unbiased preview.

Before I start, I put my neck out.
A) This is Dibakar Bannerjee's "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy" & NOT Sharadindu Bandhyopadhyay's Satyanweshi Byomkesh Bakshy. The story is his creative treatment, do NOT watch with the book in mind.
B) This movie, like Kahani, Parineeta, Queen, NH10, will run on "word of mouth publicity & NOT what Komal Nahata, Taran Adarsh, (Look I read Film Information, Film Trade Gyide, Screen, when I wore chaddis, My Late Dad, K Balakrishna Menon, worked for "Sah Enterprises Pvt Limited the biggest film exhibitors in CP, Berar(Rajasthan) from 1957-2008(his demise) Pratim D Gupta, Anupama Chopra, Rajeev Masand, Raja Sen, Mihir Phadnavis reviews.
C) The movie on box office at the moment is behind Fast & Furious 7 on bookmyshow too,
But Wait for the second week. Poila Boisakh is on 15th, this movie shall pick up in the second week, this will be this years "Mishawr Rahasya" The " Notun Borsher Shubhechcha Chobi" in Bengal!!! 
This is my current Facebook Status.

Disclaimer: Those who know me, know, that I am as unbiased as one can be, and am a film, television & music aficionados. I watch the best movies, of that year, I see every film by Anjan Dutta, Kaushik Ghosh, Late Rituparno Ghosh, Sujoy Ghosh, Quashik Mukherjee.
The movies I've seen last few years are, Autograph, Queen, The Lunchbox, Ship of Theseus,  NH10, Ugly(the last one by Anurag Kashyap) Thank You Sir, Bhooter Bhabhishyat, A Month in March, Abhoman, Tasher Desh, Mishor Rahasya, All the Byomkesh Films as an date, by Satyajit Ray, Anjan Dutta, Rituparno Ghosh & Basu Chatterjee Teleserial where Rajat Kapoor played Byomkesh Bakshi & K K Raina played Ajit & Sukanya Kulkarni played Satyabati. (Or Satyaboti) I'm writing extempore. I've not only read Feluda, Byomkesh & Kakababu before I turned 25(1985) Have seen practically all Teleserials including Sandip Ray's Satyajit Ray Presents. And I have read Sunil Gangopadhyay's Kakababu in Jaipur, through my ex band mate Late Manas Chakrabarty. (An MREC B.Tech Student who later went & joined NBC or National Engineering Industries at Jaipur) I've watched Sonar Kella at Jaipur, Joy Baba Felunath Too. Have seen Mishor Rahasya with Prosenjit Bubmba playing Kakababu. So my tryst with Bangla Puja/Childrens Literature / Mysteries/Detective Serials started early. Having read Doyle, Perry Mason, Christie all before I turned 17(1977) do NOT consider this as a biased preview .
Watch the Basu Chatterjee's Doordarshan Serial episodes HERE all 32 of them.
See it after you watch the movie. 
I did write "a doting dad's blog post" HERE titled "Elen Satyaboti" 
Here is a Vogue interview of her. 

Let me start by admitting, that , I'm an interested party in this movie, as the picture above is that of my Daughter, Divya Menon. Who's anyway otherwise talented. Not only as  NIFT graduate Fashion Designer, who works for Sabyasachi Mukherjee as an Assistant, has walked ramp at Lakme India fashion Week, has choreographed umpteen models before she passed out of NIFT Kolkata, has designed graphic works at practically every 5* in Kolkata, all with a Nokia 5300 & a Desktop. 
The proof of the pudding is in eating.
Here's a 5 year old video.
Yes!!! She sings impeccably, so does my son Dhruv.
A video of her.



Now let us talk about the film. Well among the Byomkesh played up to now, my favourite is Abir Chatterjee, then Rajat Kapur, Bumba Da is impeccable as Kakababu, but, my favourite Bengali Slueth is Sabyasachi Chakrabarty as Feluda, so soft & unadulterated, so I will watch Sushant the Hindi Protagonist, with magnifying glasses. Having watched him in all his films, especially his Kai Po Che, Shuddha Desi Romance & PK, I have a wee bit optimism, but to compare him with Abir Chatterjee is comparing Apples & Oranges. 

To Compare Anand Tiwari (Impeccable in Ship of Theseus) with K K Raina & Saswata Chatterjee again not done. 

To Compare Divya with Sukanya Kulkarni or Ushasie Chakraborty again futile.


Swastika Mukherjee in all this is too damn lucky actress. There is no comparable character, and I'm sure Swastika would be the dark horse, like Saswata Chatterjee as Bob Biswas in Kahani.  I'm sure, the character is an add on Dibakar Banerjee addition, unless it is the Advocates mistress in Pother Kanta(Episode 2 of Basu Chaterjee Television adaptation)

The 6 chakka winners in this movie before watching. 
A) Swastika's Anguri. Wildfire full of meat & oomph
B) Meiyang Chang
C) Music 7 songs by 7 composers Sneha Khanwalkar being the only mainstream Bollywood, I Lou Mink & Shaad Calcutta Kiss. Review by a Twitter buddy @MusicAloud HERE
D) Costume Design.
E) Set Design.
F) Photography. 
The above six would be nominated for awards for sure.


My review will follow below after First Day First Show
But here's my tip to Byomkesh Nazis.
A) Do Not compare. You can't compare Saigal, Dilip Kumar & Shahrukh Khan as Devdas or Motilal & Jackie Shroff as Chunnilal in Sarat Chandra Classic Bollywood adaptation.
B) Amitabh & Shahrukh as Don.
C) Amitabh & Hrithik as Vijay Dinanath Chavhan in Agnipath or Danny Denzongpa & Sanjay Dutt's Kancha China. Rishi Kapoor in Agnipath 2 rocked in the cameo like Swastika & Meiyang here. 😝(I am yet to see OK!!!)
D) Prosenjit Bumba is shown using iPhone/iPad in latest Kakababu Mishawr Rahasya but the movie rocked & was superhit poila boishakh.
E) Quashik Mukherjee's Country of Cards, or the latest Tasher Desh, the Ravindra Nath Tagore's slapstick buffoon comedy of errors play, Q as he's known to us, inserted gay relationship(no relation to the original Tagore classic) could be questioned by Thakur Nazis, but the feedback old watchers gave was, they enjoyed the treatment.
F) The same goes to the use of Drums & Guitars in Ranjona Ami Aar Ashbo Na Tagore Rabindra Sangeet , Jagarone beautifully sung by Somlata Acharya. 

Well there are Nazis, but then, you cannot compare Benedict Cumberbatch or Robert Downey Junior as Sherlock Holmes or 
Dr Watson's  played by various artistes.

Treatment of Literature changes with times.
Say 2 States & 3 Idiots on celluloid is different from Chetan Bhagat's books Ya?
Let creative freedom exist.
Only then do we get great films.
No I am not at all recommending Ram Gopal Verma's Ramgarh Ke Sholay(even ALU Choley or this the Malegaon ki Sholay is better. But then Sholay is Sholay, you cannot remake Orson Welles Citizen Kane, or Gone With The Wind can You? 
You can't find another Gabbar Singh, or a Rhett Butler, or Scarlett O'Hara. 
No Sir, you can't.
To Dibakar Banerjee, Or my daughter Divya, I quote, Rhett Butler, from Gone With The Wind,
" With enough courage, you can do without a reputation.
#StopPress Just now,
Nephew called "Mama, how is the release eve tension at home?"

Me: I'm still at work, as goods are being counted, I'm writing the preview.
Bank Closing Jo hai.
Dooty Bajaibe Babu...
Naukariya Jo hai.
Ee naukariya ki baabat,
Syndicate Bank ke education loan #SyndVidya ki wajah se Divya NIFT mein padhi
Dhruv bhi animation padhega.
Naukri 1st
Film here.
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👍👍👍👍
First Day First Show practically after 29 years

After marriage Sargam with Sala Sali at Mayur Jaipur 22/10/1986.

Here are the tickets. 

Review at 17:00 hours ISR 3rd April 29@5.
Good Friday. 
Expect the UNEXPECTED!!!!






Review shall be here
👇👇👇👇👇
Easter Shall Follow.
I shall not comment about Divya.
  1. In a sentence, technically sound on photography, costume design, make up, editing & script. Long, mixed up storyline. Two stories fused into one. Brilliant acting, even by small bit parts, like the Chinese Smuggler, student activist, the servant punti ram, I would give 5/5 on Technique. 4/5 on Acting. 3/5 on Story. Casting 10/5. Kabi as Dr Guha, Swastika as Anguri, Anand Tiwari as Ajit, Sushant as Byomkesh, Meiyang Chang as Kanoi Doi. In that order. Total 3.5/5 Not 4 falls 0.5 on story/slow narrative. Read my preview chakka 6 points. They're bang on(before I even watched it 😝)
  2. Reactions a) A Couple in 30s look "ethnic" 5/5 Technically Sound & Great Acting. B) Good Good (2 Young men in 30s ) dress executive. C) Faltu. A young pair. Marwari, born & brought up Sharadindu Nazi. "I've read all 32, why the beep did he mix two stories?" Samajh hi nahin aya kaun kaun hai boss!(Agree TOTALLY) 
  3. My technical review. A) Casting Director needs a trip to Hawaii. Brilliant selection of Actors suited physically as well as artistically. Chang, Sushant, Anand , Kabi, Even The Police Commissioner . The Hotel Servant Paltu. 
  4. Attention to detail. A) You do NOT find even ONE YELLOW AMBY YA!!! B) No puchka/sattu/muri seller on street. C) Carrom Playing & Coffee House. D) WATCH CAREFULLY THE SIGNBOARDS. I HAVE MY LATE DAD'S DESCRIPTION OF 1948 KOLKATA, THE EACH & EVERY SIGNBOARD IS AUTHENTICALLY DETAILED & DEPICTED. YOU DO NOT SEE ONE McD/KFC/CCD/P C Chandra/Anjali Jewellers hoarding Ya? E) I to my wife "I found Divya & Tini Sen(The girlfriendgirlfriend pupil of Byomkesh who got married) dress staid & frayed. Wife "Unmarried Girls of 30s/40s never wore puff sleeved garish clothes like married women. Women(Unlike Anguri) of pre independence, were backward, in inferior position, wore less affluent clothes as compared to Zamindar wives or Men. And she was a sister of Congress politician. Remember Indira, Sucheta Kriplani, Sarojini Naidu & Gandhi ji's neices ? (Well, Shree is a trained fashion designer so her word is better than mine!!)
  5. Even if you are a Byomkesh Sharadindu Nazi like me, GO WATCH A MOVIE, THE ONLY TWO MOVIES WHODUNITS WHICH COME TO MY MIND ARE A) Rajesh Khanna Nanda murder mystery B R Chopra's  Ittefaq & Vidhu Vinod Chopra's excellent thriller Khamosh, *ing Amol Palekar, and a slew of cast. Technically a brilliant film, every student of film making must watch.
  6. If you do NOT take my word take the word of 35 reviewers see the * ratings 
  7. See Khamosh here & Ittefaq here 
Now some reviews from online. 
Via. Book My show.


















 At the fag end, I have a complaint against Mark Zuckerberg & Sheryl Sandberg,
First they suggest, that I know Dibakar Bannerjee,
YES! I DO!!!
Not because he chose Divya(Or Dibya as Bangals & Ghotis call her)
But because I've watched Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye & Love, Sex aur Dhoka already, Khosla Ka Ghosla thrice & Lucky Oye & LSD twice!
BUT when I try to send a friend request, they call me abusive!!
I rarely use profanities. On my Twitter timeline, have used it twice, both times, my net nanny @SangitaSri has lambasted me. So calling me "abusive, FACEBOOK @Zuck NOT DONE DEI MALLU OUTRAGE
HOBEY NNA CHOLBE NNA!!
😝😝😝😝😝


ETA amar DBB review/preview shesh.
Amra shobai chobi dekhbo, praise korbo, chobi jeetbo.
Porey IPL ei KKR gaanta gaibo.
Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo rrey
Korbo Lorbo Rrey
Jeetbo Rrey hey Jeetbo Rrey
The End of
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy part one.
Now for the 30 sequels. Two are used here. 

The following updates are dated
Tuesday, 8th April, 2015.
A comparison between BookMyShow(based on Ticket Sales)
&
IMDb(Internet Movie Data Base) (Based on Reviews)
On BMS the rank is as follows.
1 Fast & Furious 7
2 NH10
3 Detective Byomkesh Bakshy 
4 Sholay "Oops" not found!
On IMDb
1 Sholay
2 Detective Byomkesh Bakshy
3 Fast & Furious 7
4 NH 10






IMDb rates Detective Byomkesh Bakshy at 8.3/10 based on 1950 reviews and counting.
Please Read them HEREHERE putting it among the top 500 movies on Internet Movie Data base site. Check for yourself. Thank You.



Generic Search on Sholay returns this on Book My Show.
I leave the choice of
Whether to see or skip
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy on you dear reader.
Jai Hind.
IPL mein dekhney Jason?
KKR vs MI
SRK vs Sachin
You know I'm supporting KKR
Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Rey
KKRiders Over Mumbai Paltan



2 comments:

  1. Swastika Mukherjee in all this is too damn lucky actress. There is no comparable character, and I'm sure Swastika would be the dark horse, like Saswata Chatterjee as Bob Biswas in Kahani.
    vumoorv.club

    ReplyDelete