Feludar Goyendagiri

'Feluda Pherot' came during the Christmas & it's follow up series 'Feludar Goyendagiri' released on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. Don't know whether the festive mood was somewhat responsible for this wholesome experience or the show itself stole my mind. This show is based on the storyline of 'Darjeeling Jamjamat'. Tota Roychoudhari was exactly perfect for the role Feluda - the icon of bengali culture. His appearance solely resembled the sketches of Satyajit Ray. Anirvan chakraborty was also quite relatable with jatayu. Better not to say about topshe's acting as he has very little to do in this matter. Veteran actor barun chanda is like a red wine in this series. Within his short screen sharing, he is able to make a memorable impact. Actor Rahul Banerjee also quite fits in the role of pulak ghosal. Unfortunately, there was no reference of any lady character like suchandra & I don't know what was the need for it. Feluda's thought of stabbing birupaksha majumder by different persona - herein the repetition of the same scene is a bit annoying.

But above all, the excellent cinematography serves as the asset of this web series. The beauty of kanchenjunga is well captivated within the camera frame. And lastly, the reference of Byomkesh Bakshi's 'Chitrachor' during the drop-scene is quite appreciable.

Waited almost 2 years for Feluda, but it was a disappointment. Feluda, Jatayu and Topshe don't have the charm and somehow lack the chemistry. Overacting is at it's peak in all episodes. The cinematography wasn't even in a level and changed some plots without any good reason. Another film with Darjeeling background released last month, "The Eken" had much better cinematography and thriller. Overall, this series wasn't up to the mark.

It's been almost two years since I laid my eyes on a Feluda feature. Earlier it was with Chinnomostar Ovisaap, which by the way I adored despite others criticizing it heavily although this time around, I'm not that convinced, let's just say, I have had mixed reactions to it.

Whilst, I did cherish the chemistry in-between the three main protagonists (or Three Musketeers as Lalmohan Ganguly likes to call themselves); at the same time, I would have preferred if the writing was more productive.

It's a very simple story, a rudimentary narrative, so to speak; hence, and I'm sure all the people who will watch the show, amongst them, a vast majority will be Feluda fanatics and have already read the book. Therefore, at the end of the day, it all boils down to the execution (as we all are pretty much aware of the happenings) and how and in what way the director decides to adapt the original novel into a cinematic contour.

And I feel, that is precisely where Srijit Mukherjee has committed a few blunders. On one hand, he did manage to safeguard as well as maintain the conventional flavors of Feluda (by staying true to the source material) but on the other hand, he did miscalculate and took some erratic steps that just cannot be condoned.

The iconic character Pradosh Chandra Mitra alias Feluda created by none but Satyajit Ray takes one to the boyhood days and the thrill and excitement of the childhood days. Among the detective characters created by several renowned writers in Bengali, Feluda has been most impacting. This is what the mastery of Ray as a writer who opened a new door of literature for children in Bengali which became trend-setter in Indian literature as well. Ray's mastery of characterization and the unique thematic appeal make his detective novels so unique. Mere utterance of the name of Feluda projects a smart young man, very clever, well-versed in different languages, in-depth knowledge and the inimitable style and trajectory smoking, thinking and having great sense of humour.

Several actors have performed the role of Feluda, his cousin Topshe and the detective novelist Lalmohan Ganguly alias Jatayu so far. The saga starting from Saumitra Chatterjee has been continuing till date. But the second season, titled 'Feludar Goyendagiri': Bhuswargo Bhoyonkawr' directed by Srijit Mukherjee has some unique characteristics. One is obviously the effort to make it relevant in today's context. The action goes on in Kashmir and web series refers to insurgency and other issues to make it more relevant. But this is really hard to say whether Ray referred such sensitive issues in the original writing. Nevertheless, as these do not seem alienated from the crime story, the narrative should be credited. Similarly, the direction seems really good in the Second Season Bhuswargo Bhoyonkawr.

However, the credit definitely goes to Tota Roy Chaudhury for his brilliant performance in the role of Feluda. In fact, Tota Roy Chaudhury has enacted this character with far more perfection compared to others. Similarly, Anirban Chakraborty is excellent as usual. But the talent like Rajatava Dutta does not seem to get that much space to show talent. Anyway, the Web Series is excellent and much watch one for the youngsters.

I feel Srijit Mukherjee should take a break after 2 disaster outing in Kakababu and now Feluda. Directors are ruining the legendary stories like this and we are watching with so much of expectations around it.