Satyanweshi

The worst from Ghosh, maybe the second. This is what happens when every single directors, even the artsy ones try to churn from the same source material; and you get one of the worst Byomkesh movies.

As darkness descended over Kolkata on September 5th, an eager crowd had gathered in front of Priya Cinema. Late director Rituparno Ghosh's last directorial venture was finally revealed itself to audiences in a special screening at one of the most famed cinema halls in the city. The crème of the Bengali film industry along with fans alike missed the presence of the director himself but were eager and excited to catch the premiere. The film opens with Maharaja Arunagshu, the ruler of Balwantpur discovering about his son Himangshu's romances abroad and writing down a will that prevented Himangshu from inheriting the position of Maharaja if he marries a non-Hindu girl. Enter the sleuth Byomkesh Bakshi, a role expertly adapted by Kahaani director Sujoy Ghosh. He is on a train heading to Balwantpur with his author friend Ajit (Anindya Chatterjee), on an invitation for hunting by Maharaja Himangshu himself. However the mystery thickens when Himangshu reveals to Byomkesh about the disappearance of Harinath, the palace librarian, and how the queen was devastated at the ill event. Byomkesh, known for his brilliance and zeal to seek the truth starts investigating the mysterious disappearance, while Ajit finds out about the loneliness of queen Alaka and that her only friend in the palace was Harinath, for whose disappearance she blamed her husband. Maharaja Himangshu, in a desperate attempt to win back his wife's trust, threatens Byomkesh at point blank range. But Byomkesh, being the truth seeker that he is, solves the mystery of the palace and Balwantpur and finally, the royal physician Kaligati (Sibaji Bandyopadhay) turns out to be the culprit. Rituparno Ghosh's Satyanweshi does justice to Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay's Chorabali, on which the film is based. Sujoy Ghosh fit perfectly in the role of the sleuth Byomkesh Bakshi and Sibaji Bandyopadhyay portrayed the double faced villain Kaligati brilliantly. The rest of the cast too performed their best, which includes Anindya Chatterjee as Ajit, Arpita Chatterjee as Rani Alaka and Indraneil Mukherjee as Maharaja Himangshu. The biggest leverage, however, is the music. Debajyoti Mishra's soothing rendition of Rabindranath Tagore's Shukhohin Nishidin, Rituparno Ghosh's Taradim Taradim and Kalidasa's Meghdutam clearly becomes the icing on the cake. Matching the sounds of the era of the maharajas, the only 3 songs are placed articulately, to go with the flow of the low paced thriller. Overall, Satyanweshi pays tribute to the writer Sharadindu Bandopadhyay as well as the director whose vision crafted the film. A must watch for every Rituparno Ghosh fan, as his last directorial venture does not cease to impress.

No Offense but Sujoy GHOSH???? Are you kidding me?? His dialog deliveries looked as if he was in a talk show!! I don't know what led the late Rituda to cast Sujoy Ghosh as Byomkesh, but Byomkesh needed to be a much more dynamic personality (At least we get a much more clear image about his style, personality from the pages of the novels). Seriously, Rajat Kapoor's portrayal as this super-sleuth in the early 90's TV series cannot be matched. I am a big fan of Byomkesh and his techniques, but Sujoy disappointed me a little. Sujoy Ghosh lacked the charm and grandeur which defines Byomkesh Bakshi.. But the story was good and Rituparno Ghosh's last piece of work is quite a delight... 4 out of 5 from my side

Byomkesh Bakshi suddenly became a darling of our film industry and when Rituparno Ghosh decided to do Satyanweshi, I had to take note. His choice of director friend Sujoy Ghosh as Byomkesh was already interesting and like everybody, I too had a lot of expectations. Whatever flak this film got thereafter has to do with the untimely death of Mr Ghosh as I feel if he could have completed this movie, it would not have been a disaster. It was a hurriedly finished project after his demise, the last few scenes and the CGI used were horrific. I will not even consider this as Rituparno's work, as anything which is even 90% finished can't bear your name till you give the final touches. 6/10

Movie is dull. Casting was awful. Direction is pathetic.

While there is a whole new wave of same old sleuth, private/consulting detectives being created worldwide, it is very likely to expect Byomkesh in a rejuvenated format. The re-incarnation of Sherlock created by BBC or our own Feluda by Sandip Ray has raised the bars. Byomkesh could not cross this hurdle. Even the two Byomkesh movies played by Aabir (I don't remember the names) was better.

Even more irony - Ajit looked smarter and sharper than Byomkesh.

You can refrain from watching this movie even if you are a die hard Byomkesh fan. No harm done. Nothing to lose.