Chiriyakhana

This detective thriller portrays Uttam kumar as detective Byomkesh Bakshi -- the novel creation of Saradindu Bandyopadhyay. Satyajit Ray has mixed into it suspense, thrill, intrigue and subtle comedy.

This movie is a disgrace to Satyajit Ray, my favorite director. Actually I watched this movie, after reading the novel Chiriakhana, by Saradindu Bandyopadhyay, the novel from which the movie was adapted. I couldn't watch the movie beyond one hour. Poor selection of characters, worst screenplay, a steep deviation from the original story, contributed to the failure of the movie. The original story by Bandyopadhyay, was one of the best detective stories ever written in Bengali, even in any Indian language.If Ray wanted to make an ordinary Indian, hero-centered mystery movie, he could have made such a movie. But destroying a splendid story like this is the most intolerable aspect in this movie. Those who had already read the novel, should avoid this movie.

In this film, we find Uttam Kumar in a special character. This type of character is an exception or his romantic film image. His performance is excellent, or superb. On the other hand , it may not be one of the greatest of Satyajit Ray, but certainly a very good entertaining one, especially for those who likes mystery. The new ideas of Ray,the treatments , the scenario, the dialogues are excellent. The way in which the detective analyses the situation, carries out his action plan and at last catches the criminal is rarely found in Bengali movies. Also credit goes to the handsome Bengali hero with the great personality. The film is a milestone of Uttam Kumar's film career as he won Bharat Award for this film(and also for the film "Antony Firingee"). Uttam Kumar is the first hero in India who won this award, as far as I know.

ChiriyaKhana / The Zoo (1967) : Brief Review -

A gripping and interesting Byomkesh Bakshi detective thriller by Satyajit Ray is little hurt by couple of loose ends. ChiriyaKhana was once considered Ray's worst film because of its complex plot and unfaithfulness to its source material, but by the time passed many intellectuals have praised the film. Even now i see many people calling it a weak film but why? I mean it isn't that bad. Especially when you consider a detective thriller in Bengali cinema in 60s, then Chiriyakhana is indeed a pretty much enjoyable flick. I myself would like to add some extra bashing for those couple of loose ends in the writing but that doesn't harm the entire product too much. Byomkesh Bakshi, a detective, is hired by a rich man to investigate the name of an actress appeared in a movie decades ago, who has eloped ever since. The case becomes complicated when the rich man is murdered by someone for that. The case becomes even more interesting and mysterious after the another murder and couple of unfolded events and someone who has seen lots of thriller from World Cinema would easily get the hint of the climax right there. However, the narrative stays intresting throughout the runtime. One of the major reason for that is its characters. So many characters, so many names, so many complexities and their affairs and you have to remember each one of them after just the soft and formal introduction. That is one hell of task for us viewers and if you can complete it then there's nothing complex for you in this film. Uttam Kumar as Bakshi is superb, fantastic, amazing and what, and the supporting cast is extremely good too. Ray's powerful storytelling keeps the film gripping and intense and if it wasn't for those couple of loose ends by the writer then ChiriyaKhana would have been a Classic for me. Nevertheless, it is still a great attempt and very much successful too.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

I have watched a number of different renditions of Byomkesh Bakshi, especially over the last few years, and this has been one of the most stylish portrayals of the character. First things first, I feel this is one of the weaker plots in the Byomkesh series and there are some much greater stories in the series. So, going in, I was a little skeptical, but there are certain elements that have been added in this, which make it more interesting.

Second, Uttam Kumar's portrayal of Byomkesh was great. He captured the spirit and embellished it with his own nuances, which make it a very engrossing watch. The supporting cast were also quite good. I liked the chemistry between Byomkesh and Ajit. The direction was good, although the pace was a little choppy in parts. I also felt there were certain elements in the movie that weren't quite Byomkesh-like. The disguises, the gun, and the bachelorhood were in stark contrast to the actual book character, and were a little jarring. But overall, this movie was entertaining and fun.