Sonar Kella

A masterpiece for any Feluda fan out there like me. The legend Satyajit Ray's generosity is evident in each and every scene packed in each nutshell of directory. The characters are portrayed beautifully. Soumitra Chatterjee is superb as 'Feluda'. One of my favorites is Kamu Mukherji as Mandar Bose. The range of emotions shown and the comic touch in his actions and dialogue are excellent. The change in his facial expression when he is trying to match Mukul's face with his photograph in the train is amazing.

Of course, everyone's darling Santosh Dutta as "Jatayu" is very good too. He portrays the average Bengali babu's role to perfection. "Topshe's" role as a eager and jovial teenager is well suited too.

He has a strong knowledge of the rest of India, it's history and geography, which is how he's aware of the deserts of Rajasthan. He solves problems in an intelligent way as if it were a mathematical problem. The joy of arriving at a solution is just the same. Ray's strength was his brilliant craftsmanship. He made films, drew storyboards, scored music and most importantly, wrote stories. Proper stories, not autobiographical reminiscences. He also had remarkable interest in varied fields just like a quiz buff would have. It means that if anyone is open to this vast source of knowledge, some of his lesser-known films become joyous experiences.

Well those who are not aware of who Feluda the protagonist of this movie is won't be able to get the real flavor of the flick.But for a Feluda fan like me Sonar Kella is truly a masterpiece.Feluda, a private investigator is one of the most underrated detectives in the world of fiction but perhaps one of the most interesting characters of Indian novels and stories.Sonar Kella is one of his early adventures and it is the story where he and his cousin meets the brilliant Jatayu, the comic element and an author of detective stories.The greatness of the movie is that it successfully portrays the original characters so much so that you just wonder which was made earlier,the story or the movie itself,very much like The Godfather.Hardly you will come across such a successful adaptation of a novel.Soumitra Chatterjee as Feluda and Santosh Dutta as Lalmohan Ganguly(Jatayu is his pen name)are simply amazing.The supporting actors too have done a commendable job.It is not a flawless film.Still that can be forgiven as its target audience were the kids.Cinematography was brilliant,so was the selection of the locations in Rajasthan where most of the film was made.Watch it not just for its director but for its lead actors and its brilliant screenplay.Don't forget to show this to your kids.Jatayu is gonna make them laugh for sure.Good work done.

Satyajt Ray has always been revered at home and abroad as a true maestro but (especially in the West) it has been his serious cinema that have been the focus of all adulation and admiration. It is little known outside of his native Bengali community his equal brilliance at writing short stories and novels for children, including the creation of two of Bengali modern literature's most loved characters - Feluda and Professor Shonku.It is in this first screen adaption of one of his popular Feluda stories - Sonar Kella, that we see how far the man's creative dexterity really extended. I remember seeing this film when very young and till date it remains evergreen in my memory, so much so that when I think back on the very many memorable moments from it, my subconscious extracts images from how it appeared on the cinema screen, rather than on TV - this in-spite of numerous repeat viewings on broadcast,video and now DVD. That is saying a lot for the indelible first impressions that this movie made on me.Like most great directors, Ray was blessed with a special empathy and "connect" that enabled him to extract remarkably natural performances from children, even very young ones - this is never more manifest in any of his other movies(with the notable exception of his first - The Song of the Road), especially in the scene when a child actor, playing a bit part, recounts his experiences while being mistakenly kidnapped and held captive instead of the main protagonist - completely mindblowingly natural. Apart from the great background score (composed by ray himself),technical polish,perfect casting,great performances,superb editing and cinematography, this film stands out for the outstanding,larger than life portrayal of the state of Rajasthan(almost like a character) and it's unique natural beauty and romanticism,characterized by deserts,camels,forts,peacocks,steam engines,mystery men and vibrant colours. This lent the movie a Hollywood summer blockbuster action/adventure sheen, which has never before or since been achieved in Bengali cinema. Brilliant!!!

First of all, I think I'll add a short introduction to Feluda stories. Among over two-hundred novels and stories Ray had written especially for teenagers, the detective stories of Feluda are by far the most popular. With calculated amounts of wit, suspense, action and humor, the stories are considered classics of modern Bengali literature. So it was not surprising that he would make one of them for the screen.

As a book, "Sonar Kella" is one of the all-time bestsellers. Now I have seen the film about ten times and what fascinated me is how Ray changed the whole structure of the book while making this film. The novel is a fantastic detection story with sharp plot twists. But Ray thought the concept of detection as a theme in this film will not make the viewers see it more than once. So he makes it more like a modern thriller -- he showed the crime and criminals at first and now the theme becomes how Feluda unfolds it. That's why crime and detection is not the only theme of this film. There is plenty of humor and excellent visionary of Rajasthan too. Ray primarily directed the film to his readers but also made sure it satisfies all kinds of audience.

Another point I want to make: if the viewer doesn't know Bengali and relies on subtitles, he/she misses a good percentage of its fun. That part lies on its extremely witty screenplay where often Ray literally played with the words. Among the actors, Soumitra Chatterjee is quite good as Feluda, at least he was the best for this part in that time. Santosh Dutta virtually created the character of Jatayu. It became his trademark role. And one must mention the flamboyant and passionate performance of Kamu Mukherjee as the villain Mandar Bose.

The film features all of Ray's trademark styles -- in artwork, in script, in the camera angles and original music. And it remains an all-time family classic in the history of Indian cinema.

This is an excellent film. Satyajit Ray's genius is evident in each and every scene. The characters are portrayed beautifully. Soumitra Chatterjee is superb as 'Feluda'. One of my favorites is Kamu Mukherji as Mandar Bose. The range of emotions shown and the comic touch in his actions and dialogue are excellent. The change in his facial expression when he is trying to match Mukul's face with his photograph in the train is amazing.

Of course, everyone's darling Santosh Dutta as "Jatayu" is very good too. He portrays the average Bengali babu's role to perfection. "Topshe's" role as a eager and jovial teenager is well suited too.

The transitions between scenes are very nice - they help maintain the pace of the film. The background music leaves a beautiful impression. You may need to watch the film more than once to notice the subtle connections between certain dialogues and visual clues.

The dialogues are crisp and delivery is fantastic. Unfortunately, you would need to know the Bengali language to fully enjoy their impact - the loss in translation is inevitable.

Not one moment in the film is boring - if you want to be entertained as well as intellectually stimulated - this film is for you. Needless to say, I have watched it many times and I have a copy in my personal collection.