Feluda Films
Created | Updated Jan 18, 2010
The Satyajit Ray Era
Feluda also known as Pradosh Chandra Mitter is a detective character created by Satyajit Ray, the Oscar winning film-director from Kolkata (Calcutta), India. Although the world knew Ray as a great film-maker, Kolkata revers him as an exceptional writer too. His other creations were Professor Shanku and Tarini Khuro (Uncle Tarini). He also wrote numerous short-stories. Feluda is said to be a cross between Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Herge's Tintin and George Lucas' Indiana Jones. Feluda stories1 are written and filmed in Bengali.Feluda first appeared in "Sandesh", a children's periodical edited by Ray himself - and founded by his grand-father, Upendrakishore Raychoudhury, a great writer - in the story "Feludar Goendagiri" (Feluda's Investigation), in December 1965, set at the backdrop of Darjeeling, a hill-station in India. The super-sleuth Feluda is assisted by his cousin Tapesh Ranjan Mitter (Topshe), a teenager, who is the narrator of the stories, and later the thriller writer, Lalmohan Ganguly, more popular as Jatayu, his pen-name, joins to form the trio. A short and simple man, Jatayu provides comic relief to the readers, and gradually became Ray's favourite and an indispensable character in the Feluda series.
The word Feluda is actually formed by Felu and da, which means Brother Felu (Prounounced: Phayloo). 'Da' is a short form of the Bengali word 'Dada' which means Elder brother. Pradosh Mitter is called Feluda in the novels, as the narrator Topshe is his younger cousin. Similarly, Feluda is called Felubabu by Jatayu which stands for Mr. Felu, and called Felu by his elder family members, friends and relatives, and more endearingly Feluchand by Sidhu-jatha.
Ray made the first Feluda film Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress) in 1974. It was on the back-drop of Rajasthan, the West-Indian state strewn with desert, forts, camels, peacocks, royal stories, heroic deeds and gallant folk-lores. The story deals with the kidnapping of a child, a treasure hunt, an attempt to murder, identity theft, and also explored the concept of reincarnation. This is also the story in which Jatayu is introduced.
Sonar Kella was followed by Joi Baba Felunath (The Mystery of the Elephant God) in 1979. This story was set on Benares, the holy city of India. It explores religious exploitation, and stealing of, or procuring by unfair means (even to the extent of homicide), invaluable artefacts of India and selling them to rich foreigners, collectors of art objects. The villain Maganlal Meghraj, who comes back in Feluda stories twice again, was played by renowned Indian actor Utpal Dutt.
Both these films had Soumitra Chatterjee, Siddhartha Chatterjee and Santosh Dutta playing the roles of the trio. All the 3 actors suited perfectly for the roles. They also played the roles in a radio play, "Baksa Rahasya" (The Mystery of the Kalka Mail / A Mysterious Case) for the All India Radio directed by Ray. The story was set in the back-drop of Delhi, the national capital, and Simla, another hill-station in India and the capital of the state of Himachal Pradesh. It deals with a stolen diamond, and a priceless unpublished manuscript.
"Kissa Kathmandu Ka" based on the novel "Jato Kando Kathmandute" (The Criminals of Kathmandu) was filmed in Hindi, as a part of the serial "Satyajit Ray Presents", for the Doordarshan2 in mid 1980s by Sandip Ray, Satyajit Ray's son. Satyajit Ray wrote the screenplay for the film. The backdrop of the story is Kathmandu, the national capital of Nepal, and it deals with the fake medicine racket. The trio was played by Shashi Kapoor, Alankar and Mohan Agasse. The vile Maganlal Meghraj is back again played by Utpal Dutt. It was a good crime serial, however never a good Feluda film! Feluda lovers rejected Shashi Kapoor. He is a gifted and popular actor, but was not at all a good choice for the role of Feluda. The same was opined for Mohan Agasse.
Mid 1980s saw the demise of Santosh Dutta, and Ray decided never to film a Feluda story again, although he went on penning so many of them till his last days.
Satyajit Ray used to be very choosy about letting other directors use his stories to make films, and Feluda was already an icon and a cult now in Bengal, so other film-makers too were very apprehensive about making a Feluda film with a new Feluda and more so a new Jatayu.
A few years later, Bibhas Chakrabortty, another eminent director from Kolkata, filmed two of Ray's Feluda stories, for the television -- "Ghurghutiar Ghatana" (The Locked Chest) and "Golokdham Rahasya" (Mystery at Golok Lodge). The first one is set up in the backdrop of Ghurghutia, a remote village in West Bengal3. It deals with a vicious murder, impersonifications, a talking parrot, a code for a chest hidden in a riddle, and deceptions and intrigues. Golokdham Rahasya is setup in the backdrops of Kolkata, the capital of the state of West Bengal, and deals with professional jealousy, and long nurtured vengeance. These two stories did not have Jatayu as one of the characters, and Topshe was played by Indranil Halder and Badsha Sengupta respectively. Needless to say, Soumitra Chatterjee continued to play the role of Feluda.
Satyajit Ray passed away in April 1993, Robertsoner Ruby (Robertson's Ruby) and Indrajal Rahasya (The Magical Mystery) being the last Feluda novels. Feluda lovers had to swallow the bitter pill that they would no longer have a new Feluda story to read, but they still lived with the hope, a new Feluda film will be ready very soon...
The Sandip Ray Era -- New Generation Films
Sandip Ray announced in late 1990s that he was working on a new Feluda film with new faces for the trio -- Pradosh Chandra Mitter, his cousin Tapesh Ranjan Mitter and Lalmohan Ganguly. Feluda fans were curious to know who would be cast as the next Feluda and the next Jatayu. Soumitra Chatterjee and Santosh Dutta had been perfect for the roles, but now Sandip Ray had to look for new faces as Chatterjee had become too aged to play Feluda, and Dutta had passed away. Soumitra Chatterjee was also of the same opinion, and had shared the fact with the media, that he would play no more Feluda roles. People argued that none could replace Chatterjee as Feluda, and that it was equally impossible to replace Dutta as Jatayu. But, many others refuted, Sherlock Holmes has been played by so many actors, and so has been James Bond, then why not Feluda? Just because Satyajit Ray and Santosh Dutta were no more, and Soumitra could no longer play Feluda, it is not justified to archive the super-sleuth Feluda forever.Followed by a lot of mixed reactions, Sandip Ray chose three new actors. Sabyasachi Chakrobortty for Feluda, Saswata Chatterjee for Topshe and veteran actor Robi Ghosh for Jatayu. The first film was a video-release4 -- it was Baksa Rahasya (The Mystery of the Kalka Mail / A Mysterious Case). It was supposed to be televised on 2nd May as it was Satyajit Ray's birthday, but excessive bureaucratic red-tape led to delays, and Sandip Ray went for a video-release in a cinema-house in Kolkata. Although Saswata was a new face, Sabyasachi Chakrobortty was an experienced TV actor, and was welcome by Feluda fans as the new Feluda. Soumitra Chatterjee, the then Feluda, was also overjoyed. He took it sportingly, agreeing to the fact that he was too old now to be Feluda.
The story was set in the back-drop of Delhi, the national capital, and Simla another hill-station in India. It deals with a stolen diamond, and a priceless unpublished manuscript. Satyajit Ray had already made an audio play for it for the All India Radio. This time it was on screen. When the film was released at Nandan, to celebrate 30 years of Feluda's first novel, Feluda fans rushed to watch it. Although Robi Ghosh was a great and veteran actor, he was no match to Santosh Dutta as Jatayu. However, Sabyasachi did a pretty decent job, and although had a lot of areas to work on (not as an actor, but to suit the role of Feluda) the viewers accepted the new Feluda.
A year or so later, Sandip Ray had four more Feluda films to go on air, this time for the Kolkata Doordarshan. However, little did he know about the mishap fate had in store for him. The series was called "Feluda 30", comprising of five Feluda films the first of them being Baksa Rahasya. While Baksa Rahasya was on the air, Robi Ghosh passed away! It was a shock and a great loss for the Bengali film industry, and more so for Feluda fans, as a big question mark again swayed on Jatayu. Sandip Ray had little time to decide as two of the five stories of the series needs a new Jatayu. Many names came up, one being Manoj Mitra and the other Anup Kumar -- both veteran actors of great calibre. Anup Kumar was finally short-listed, but Feluda fans were not at all happy as he had a completely different look as compared to how Satyajit Ray had drawn this favourite character of his in so many of his stories.
Once Baksa Rahasya was over, it was turn for Gosainpur Sargaram (The Mystery of the Walking Dead). This was the last film with Robi Ghosh as Jatayu. The story was setup in Gosainpur, a remote village in Bengal, and dealt with intrigue and deception, and an eccentric old man Shyamlal Mallik, who had cut off himself from all modern amenities of life after getting electrocuted once !!
This was followed by Sheyal Debota Rahasya" (The Anubis Mystery). The story revolves around a statuette of Anubis, the Egyptian fox-god. Set up in Kolkata (Calcutta), the story explores eeriness, greed, lust and deception. This story did not have Jatayu as one of the characters.
Time came for a new Jatayu now, and the story in line was Bosepukere Khunkharapi (The Acharya Murder Case). Once again a story setup in Kolkata, Bosepukere Khunkharapi explores professional jealousy, murder of a young play-write of jatras5 and betrayal.
The next story was the most elegant one of the new generation films in the opinion of this researcher. It was "Jato Kando Kathmandute" (The Criminals of Kathmandu). Set up in Kathmandu, Nepal, the film was a feast for the eye. The scenic beauty of Nepal, the natural wonders made the film a great one to watch. The story itself was very intriguing. As mentioned in the first part of the article, it was about a fake medicine racket. The story was filmed earlier by Sandip Ray in Hindi. Mohan Agasse, who played Jatayu in the Hindi version was back here, this time in the opposite role, as the wily Maganlal Meghraj. As Utpal Dutt was no more, Sandip Ray had to go for a new Maganlal Meghraj this time. Agasse did a great job and was accepted by all Feluda fans as suitable for the role of Maganlal after Dutt. The same screenplay was used, written by Satyajit Ray, which explains why this researcher believes this has been by far the best of new generation Feluda films.
History repeated itself !!!
Mishap followed. Jatayu Anup Kumar passed away !! Sandip Ray was very upset. It looked like the role of Jatayu was cursed. Not only that the actors died untimely deaths, but also that all the three actors played Jatayu in just 2 films each !!
However, Sandip Ray was not a man to cling to superstitions and prejudices and let go his dreams and aspirations.
After about a year, Sandip Ray again started to look for a new Jatayu, and this time it was Bibhu Bhattacharya who was short-listed.
A new tele-serial started called "Satyajiter Gappo" (Stories by Satyajit Ray). It started with a few short-stories by Satyajit Ray, some of them also had the screen-play made by him(during the making of Satyajit Ray Presents), followed by four films on Feluda stories. Feluda fans were waiting eagerly to watch the new Feluda films, and of course the new Jatayu.
By now, Sandip Ray was already working on a Feluda film for the big-screen. He had three stories in mind -- Bombaiyer Bombete, Kailashe Kelenkari and Gorosthane Sabdhan (Trouble in the Graveyard). Now, crime stories are of two broad categories --
- The Who-dun-it type: Where the reader or the audience does not know who the criminal is. The thrill is in the suspense to know who has committed the crime.
- The Thriller type: Where the reader or the audience knows who the criminal is, and the thril is to watch how the sleuth reaches the conclusion and captures the criminal.
Now, as Satyajit Ray had followed earlier, Sandip Ray too followed the same, that a big-screen film cannot be made on a 'Who-dun-it' format, as it reduces the chances of a member of the audience to go for repeat viewing, or even for a first one if some spoil-sport has already disclosed in the public who the criminal is!! On the other hand, it is a good idea to follow the 'Who-dun-it' format on the television, as there is little chance of repeat viewing. As we see in "Sonar Kella" and "Joi Baba Felunath", the thriller format had been adopted, although "Sonar Kella" was written in a 'Who-dun-it' format like other Feluda stories. However, for all the other films, which were made for the TV, the 'Who-dun-it' format was adopted. It seemed, Sandip Ray wanted to experiment with a thriller format on the TV now, before he went for the big-screen.
It was the turn for Ghutghutiar Ghatana (The Locked Chest), based on Satyajit Ray's story Ghurghutiar Ghatana. Set up in the backdrop of Ghutghutia, a remote village in Bengal, the story deals with a vicious murder, impersonifications, a talking parrot, a code for a chest hidden in a riddle, and deceptions and intrigues. The story did not have Jatayu as a character. It had already been filmed once by Bibhas Chakrobortty, as discussed in the first part of the article, with Soumitra Chatterjee as Feluda. This time, although the same old wine was being served, it was of course in a new bottle. Yes, the new bottle was the thriller format. It was no doubt a success. Viewers enjoyed the second screen-version of the story, this time from a different point.
Now the time came for the launching of the new Jatayu. The next story in the series was "Jahangirer Swarnamudra" (The Gold Coins of Jehangir*). The story was set up in Panihati, a town in Bengal, in the out-skirts of Kolkata, and explored familial jealousy, a theft of gold coins belonging to Jehangir (the 4th Mughal emperor), black-mailing and treason. Bibhu Bhattacharya as Jatayu did a pretty decent job. He was a perfect match for the role after Santosh Dutta as per the sketches made by Satyajit Ray, although he is not as great an actor as his predecessors. By now, even Sabyasachi Chakrobortty had improved a lot to suit the role of Feluda, and the trio was accepted by Feluda fans all through Bengal.
The next story in the series was "Ambar Sen Antardhan Rahasya" (The Disappearance of Ambar Sen). The story was set up in Kolkata, the city of joy.6 It deals with the 'kidnapping' of Ambar Sen and a theft. Feluda fans had a surprise in store in the very first scene of the film. Feluda's client, Ambar Sen, was played by none other than Soumitra Chatterjee, the first Feluda (Also this researcher's favourite one)!
As Feluda had opined many times, "When an educated, intelligent and clever person gets into crime, remember he is to be the most cunning, most wily and most vicious." The same was a reflection of Maganlal Meghraj. The wily, vicious villain of the Feluda series was back in the next story. It was "Golapi Mukta Rahasya" (The Mystery of the Pink Pearl / The Mystery of the Purple Stone). Needless to mention, Mohan Agasse was back too for the role. The story sees the trio back to Benares, the holy city. It deals with a priceless pink pearl, and robbery -- read the story to get the jolt at the end. It was a nostalgic experience for Feluda fans,as they watched the trio once again revel in Benaras, after Joi Baba Felunath. As per the story, the trio checked in to the same lodge, and also visited Maganlal at his residence. Sandip Ray too used the same buildings Satyajit Ray had used for the lodge and for Maganlal's abode. Along with that even the lodge manager was the same person, though much older now. The story starts at a village in Bengal, the trio travels to Benares followed by Agra, the city of the beautiful Taj Mahal, the icon of India. With the completion of this film, Bibhu Bhattacharya broke the Jatayu jinx. He had by then played Jatayu in three films, unlike his predecessors, who had acted in only two, before their untimely deaths.
A few months passed, and Sandip Ray concentrated on making films on other stories leaving aside Feluda for a while. A new tele-serial started -- "Satyajiter Priyo Galpo" (Satyajit Ray's Favourite Stories). Satyajit Ray's short-stories, (also including those of the Tarini Khuro series) and other stories too. Saswata played the role of Tarini (young) and Subhendu Chatterjee, a veteran actor of great calibre, and Saswata's father played the old Tarini's role. Ray also filmed quite a few other stories as well for the series, written by eminent Bengali authors. The series was called "Satyajit Ray's Favourite Stories" probably because they were the ones chosen by Satyajit Ray for "Satyajit Ray Presents". This series was also a great success.
Before going for a full length Feluda film for the big-screen, Sandip Ray probably wanted to experiment with a full-length film for the television. Although this was also on the Who-dun-it type, it was a full length film. The story was Doctor Munshir Diary (Dr. Munshi's Diary). The story was once again set up in Kolkata (Calcutta), involving a psychiatrist's journal, a vicious murder, the killing of a pet leopard, a theft and strange psychic cases!
Sandip Ray decided to put a stop on small-screen Feluda films here. He had already tested the popularity of the new faces in the role of the trio (or as Jatayu often used to describe the trio -- The Three Musketeers !). It had been a sure success. The time was ripe to go for the big-screen now.
Before finalising the project, Sandip Ray wanted to take a difficult decision, to pay heed to the feed-back of Feluda loveers. It was about Topshe. Saswata Chatterjee had grown up now, no longer fit for the teenage Topshe. Sandip Ray now had to look for a new and younger face to play the role of Feluda's cousin and assistant.
Next-Generation Feluda -- Big-screen Films
The story was already chosen and kept aside by Sandip Ray for a big-screen film. It was "Bombaiyer Bombete" (The Buccaneers of Bombay), released on 12th December, 2003. The story starts in Kolkata, and then the trio travels to Bombay (Mumbai) to watch the shooting of the film "Jet Bahadur" based on Jatayu's thriller novel. The story involves vicious murders and a priceless jewell-studded necklace owned by Nana Saheb7 A new Topshe was launched in the film. It was Parambrata Chatterjee, a popular face in Bengali serials. The film was a super-hit, and the success of the new trio as the Three Musketeers was re-established.A mile-stone achieved, Sandip Ray now focussed on making other big-screen films based on stories by other great writers in Bengali. Feluda fans started getting impatient, as they were eagerly waiting for another Feluda film. Shooting for Tintorettor Jishu started. The trio had to travel in a foreign land, and problems cropped up shooting there. The project had to be shelved. However, Sandip Ray also had plan B in mind.
In May 2008, "Kailase Kelenkari" (A Killer in Kailash) was released. This was an exciting thriller, starting in Kolkata, then into the outskirts at Siddiqpur, and then to Aurangabad in Maharashtra and finally to Ellora, 16km there from, famous for cave temples curved in the Rashtrakuta era of ancient Indian history. The film was a feast for the eye. A must watch for history fans. The story explores vandalism and damaging of historical monuments and temples for stone statues to be sold off to the Westerners. The glimpses of Architectural monuments in Aurangabad and the curvings at the cave temples in Ellora makes the film a must-watch.
Feluda's client here is Sidhu-jatha8, Siddheshwar Bose. Feluda describes Sidhu-jatha as "the walking encyclopaedia" and Sidhu-jatha describes himself as -- "Sherlock Holmes had an elder brother, Microft Holmes. Although he was very lazy, but he was really a big-brother to Sherlock in intelligence. Even Sherlock often used to pay visit to Microft for his help. Similarly, I am the Microft to Felu."
Sandip Ray had only shelved the other Feluda film, not scrapped it. So, now it was turn for him to complete the unfinished work. In December 2008, released "Tintorettor Jishu" (Tintoretto's Jesus). The story starts in Baikunthopur in Bengal, and then the trio travels to Bhagwangarh in the Central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, and then travels to as far as Hong Kong to coerce the villain. This was the first Feluda film set up in a foreign land. The story deals with a vicious deception, a painting of Jesus Christ by the famous post-renaissance Italian painter Tintoretto, the theft of the same and the heinous murder of a pet dog.
Till date this has been the last Feluda film, and Feluda fans are waiting eagerly to know when would the next Feluda film be released.
One important thing to notice in the difference between Soumitra Chatterjee as Feluda as Sabyasachi Chakrobortty as Feluda is that Chatterjee was more a next-door guy, and Chakrobortty looks more serious, though he made himself a more amicable Feluda gradually. Also, Chatterjee as Feluda was a more cerebral sleuth, whereas Chakrobortty as Feluda is more into power-play. Feluda, the thinking-man concept is not so conspicuously present in the next-generation films. The new Feluda is more agile, more powerful and makes more use of his fists and muscles and marshall-arts rather than his magajastra, the brain-weapon. Not that the former Feluda was not adept in these qualities, but he was more portrayed as the wielder of the magajastra, whereas his successor more as the powerful one. Going by the novels, one can always infer Feluda is powerful too, and is adept in marshall-arts, Judo, etc. but Chakrobortty's portrayal of Feluda gives more importance to this facet rather than Feluda, the thinking-man.
Audio plays on Feluda stories.
Besides Baksa Rahasya, audio plays for the radio were made of 2 more of Feluda stories by different directors. One was Darjeeling Jamjamat (Danger in Darjeeling). It was set in Darjeeling, a beautiful hill-station in northern West Bengal, and dealt with an attempted patricide, a murder and once again a vile deception.
The other was Royal Bengal Rahasya (The Royal Bengal9 Mystery). This was set in the dense forests of northern Bengal. It dealt with decoding a clue to a treasure hunt and plagiarism. The trio was played by popular radio actors.
BBC Radio made 2 audio plays in English, The Golden Fortress"10 on 10th February, 2007 and "The Mystery of the Elephant God" on 11th August, 2007, based on Sonar Kella and Joi Baba Felunath respectively. Eminent Indian actors, Rahul Bose and Anupam Kher voicing Feluda and Jatayu respectively.
Some Interesting Facts
Sidhu-jatha comes back time and again in many Feluda stories and films, but strange enough, played every time by a different actor. In Sonar Kella, he is played by Harindranath Bannerjee. Then in the audio version of Baksa Rahasya, played by Sushil Majumder. In Golokdham Rahasya, he's played by Manoj Mitra. We see him again in the video version of Baksa Rahasya, played by Ajit Bannerjee. Once again in Golapi Mukta Rahasya by Dibya Bhattacharya, and then in Kailase Kelenkari by Haradhan Bannerjee.Talking about Haradhan Bannerjee, he is one actor who has acted in four Feluda films. He appeared in Sonar Kella as Topshe's father, then in Joi Baba Felunath as Umanath Ghosal. Again in Baksa Rahasya as Dinanath Lahiri, Feluda's client -- both in the audio and video versions of the story. Once again we see him back in the Feluda movie Kailase Kelenkari as Sidhu-jatha.
Another common face is Biplab Chatterjee. He played the role of Bikash Sinha in Joi Baba Felunath, then as Prabir in Baksa Rahasya (Audio), and again as Jayanta Mallik in Kailase Kelenkari.
We also see Bimal Chatterjee playing a small role in Sonar Kella" as the solicitor Shivraan Mukherjee, and then Ambika Ghosal, Feluda's client, in Joi Baba Felunath. Once again in Sandip Ray's Ghutghutiar Ghatana as Kalikinkar Majumdar, the victim, and then again as Mriganka Bhattacharya, nick-named Atmaram, the false spiritualist in Gosainpur Sargaram.
We also see Dibya Bhattacharya in different roles. In Baksa Rahasya (Film) he plays Mr. Pakrashi, again as Shyamlal Mallik in Gosainpur Sargaram. Then a small role in Jato Kando Kathmandute as Harinath Chakrabortty, and then also as Sidhu-jatha in Golapi Mukta Rahasya.
Note:
The English names are not necessarily translations of the original names. They are the names used in the English rendition of the stories.
1Click the link to read the english renditions of the novels: Feluda stories in English2Doordarshan: The television channel owned by the India Government.3West Bengal: The Bengal Provinces was a huge state in the eastern part of India during the British rule. After independence and the partition of India, Bengal was divided into 2 parts, the western part went for India, and the eastern for Pakistan. They were called West Bengal and East Pakistan. Although East Pakistan was later called East Bengal after it gained independence, and was rechristened as Bangladesh, West Bengal continues to be known by the same name. In this article Bengal refers to the East-Indian state of West Bengal.4Video-release: The same equipments are not used to shoot a film for the big-screen as used for the small-screen. Especially the camera. A movie-camera is used for big-screen films, and a video-camera for small-screen ones. In simple English they might sound synonymous, but they are different terms for a cinematographer and a film-maker.5Jatra: a type of stage-play where the audience sits at three sides of the stage, and acting is full of emotions spilling over -- A traditional Bengali folk culture. Kolkata too has a rich jatra culture where eminent actors take part as well.6This was the only Feluda story published in the children's magazine "Anandamela" as a series. All the other stories were published in "Sandesh" or in "Desh".7Nana Saheb: Was heir to the Peshwa's throne of Bithur in 1857. Was one of the leaders in India's first war for Independence -- the Revolt of 1857.8Sidhu-jatha: Means Uncle Sidhu. 'Jatha' in Bengali means Father's elder brother. Sidhu-jatha is not actually related to Feluda by blood, but is called uncle as is customary in India for known elders.9Royal Bengal: It refers to the famous Royal Bengal Tiger10"Click the link to enjoy the BBC play: The Golden Fortress.
