Byomkesh Bakshi (or Byomkesh Baksi or Byomkesh Bakshy) (Bengali: ব্যোমকেশ বক্সী) is a fictional detective in Bengali literature created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.

Character[edit]

Byomkesh disliked being called a detective. He preferred the term satyanweshi, meaning seeker of truth. Unlike many other fictional detectives, Byomkesh ages, marries, has a son, starts a publishing firm with his assistant-cum-chronicler Ajit (he makes a more stable income from this than from his seeking of the truth), buys a house in South Calcutta, and ponders buying a car for his wife Satyabati (note that ‘satya’ occurs here again)^[1]

Byomkesh’s only addiction is smoking, he has no musical ear to speak of, but like many modern young Bengalis of the time, he has a solid grasp over Bengali literature and a working knowledge of the Sanskrit classics, from which both he and Ajit quote freely.^[2]

Stories[edit]

The first story appeared in print in 1932. The stories are chronicled by Ajit, a writer who meets Byomkesh in Satyanweshi (novel).

The books are written in classical Bengali, with a mood of noir – fast, gripping, uncompromising in their portrayal of violence or lust, with touches of wry humour. There are thirty two stories in all. Byomkesh gradually ages over time in them. ^[3]

In 1936, in only his tenth outing, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, wanted to retire Byomkesh, and so married him off (an almost unheard-of thing for detectives across the world), and thought that was the end of it. He did not write another Byomkesh story for 16 years, and settled in Bombay as a writer for Himanshu Roy’s Bombay Talkies. But on a visit to Calcutta, he discovered that Bengalis still hankered for his hero; graciously, he returned to Byomkesh and stayed with him till the end of his life. ^[1]

In a 1969 interview, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay worried about Byomkesh—he was now 60 years old (10 years younger than his creator); and though still mentally and physically fit, he would like to retire, but was helpless as long as a vast number of Bengali readers kept wanting to read more of him. And the author could not let them down.^[1]

List of Stories[edit]

Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay wrote 32 Byomkesh stories between 1932 and 1970, with one additional story remaining incomplete at the time of his death. The stories are as follows:^[4][5]

In other media[edit]

Film adaptations[edit]

• Chiriyakhana (1967) ^[6][7] directed by Satyajit Ray and produced by Harendranath Bhattacharjya of Star Productions was the first screen adaptation of the sleuth's cases. Uttam Kumar had played the role of Byomkesh Bakshi while Shailen Mukherjee played the character of Ajit. The film boasted an ensemble cast of contemporary actors. Uttam Kumar, playing Bakshi, and director Satyajit Ray won a National Award.
• Shajarur Kanta (1974)^[8][9] directed by actress-turned-director Manju Dey and produced by Star Productions was the second film of the Bakshi series. Satindra Bhattacharya replaced Uttam Kumar as Bakshi and Shailen Mukherjee played his role as Ajit.
• Magno Mainak (2009)^[9] directed by Swapan Ghosal and produced by New Wave Communications was the third film of the Bakshi series. Subhrajit Dutta acted as Bakshi while Rajarshi Mukherjee played his role as Ajit.
• Byomkesh Bakshi (2010)^[9] was the first installment of the Byomkesh film trilogy directed by singer-songwriter-actor-director Anjan Dutt and produced by R P Techvision Pvt Ltd. The film was released on 13 August 2010. This movie is based on the novel Adim Ripu. This movie was scheduled be followed by the other two film-adaptations of Chitrochor and Beni Sanghar.
• Abar Byomkesh (2012)^[10] was the second film adaption of the Byomkesh film trilogy . In the film, Abir Chatterjee plays Bakshi while Ushasie Chakraborty plays Satyabati. The character of Ajit is played by Saswata Chatterjee. The movie is adapted from the novel Chitrochor.
• Satyanweshi (2013)^[11][12][13] directed by Rituparno Ghosh. It is adapted from the novel Chorabali, Sujoy Ghosh playing the lead Role. The film released on 5 Sep 2013 .
• Byomkesh Phire Elo (2014) is the third film adaptation of the Byomkesh film trilogy by Anjan Dutta. In the film, all actors from the previous film have reprised their roles including Abir Chatterjee as Bakshi & Ushasie Chakraborty as Satyaboti. The Film is Based on Beni Sanghar.
• Shajarur Kanta is a 2015 film based on the novel of same name. The film stars Dhritiman Chatterjee as Byomkesh Bakshi. Indraneil Sengupta and Konkona Sen Sharma are playing important roles. The film is directed by Saibal Mitra.^[14][15]
• Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015) Co-produced by Yash Raj Films and directed and co-produced by Dibakar Banerjee.^[16][17][18] The film stars Sushant Singh Rajput as Byomkesh Bakshi. This movie was slightly based on novel "Satyanweshi".
• Byomkesh Bakshi (2015) is a 2015 film based on the novel Kohen Kobi Kalidas. It is the fourth installment of Anjan Dutt's Byomkesh series. Actor Jisshu Sengupta is seen as Byomkesh in this installment.^[19]
• Har Har Byomkesh is an upcoming 2015 Bengali film based on Banhi-patanga. Arindam Sil is the director of the movie where Abir Chatterjee as Byomkesh. The producer is Shree Venkatesh Films & Surinder Films.
• Shree Satyanweshi is an upcoming 2016 Bengali documentary film based on Roktomukhi Neela. The film stars Totan Biswas as Byomkesh Bakshi.The Film will be produced by Be Creative Films & Orrin Vactor Productions.

Radio adaptations[edit]

The Sunday Suspense series of 98.3 Radio Mirchi (Kolkata) adapted total seven novels of Byomkesh Bakshi for audio stories which include Satyanweshi, Makorshar Rosh, Agnibaan, Roktomukhi Neela, Khunji Khunji Nari, Adwitiyo and Lohar Biscuit.

Television adaptations[edit]

• In the early 1980s Kolkata Doordarshan produced several episodes of Byomkesh Bakshi where Ajoy Ganguly acted as Byomkesh.
• Byomkesh Bakshi (1993) directed by Basu Chatterjee was the critically acclaimed television adaptation of the series. Actor Rajit Kapur played the role of Byomkesh Bakshi, for which he was highly praised. Ajit was played by K.K. Raina and Satyabati was played by Sukanya Kulkarni who was the first actress to play the character. The series had 33 episodes, aired on DD 1 Season 1 in 1993 and Season 2 in 1997.^[20]
• Byomkesh Bakshi (2004) directed by Swapan Ghoshal was the second television adaptation of the series also aired on Doordarshan. Actor Sudip Mukherjee debuted with the role of Byomkesh Bakshi. Debdut Ghosh played the role of Ajit while Satyaboti was played by Maitreyi Mitra.
• Byomkesh (2007) was also directed by Swapan Ghosal, who collaborated with Tara Muzik (a private Bengali T. V. channel). Actor Saptarshi Roy has played Bakshi while Ajit and Satyaboti were played by two lesser-known actors.
• A 2014 TV series named Byomkesh airing on ETV Bangla, actor Gaurav Chakrabarty played the role of Byomkesh.

Legacy[edit]

• Byomkesh Bakshi was introduced to the Indian national audience in 1993 through the Doordarshan serial of the same name, directed by Basu Chatterjee. The serial—despite poor production values—was immensely popular and has since been rerun by Doordarshan many times. All the episodes are available on YouTube, and a random check indicates that they get a respectable number of views. Certainly for many people who watched the serial when it was first broadcast, the actor Rajit Kapur has become identified with the fictional Bengali detective for all time to come.^[1]

• Byomkesh Bakshi has been mentioned in the 2014 episode "The Mommy Observation" of the US TV series The Big Bang Theory. The character Bernadette Rostenkowski refers Bakshi as Indian Sherlock Holmes while Raj Koothrappali refers Sherlock as the English Byomkesh Bakshi.^[21]

• In 2014 film Doorbeen, an aged Byomkesh Bakshi is portrayed by Soumitra Chatterjee. The film is not based on any of Byomkesh Bakshi stories, it is a spoof film and a crossover between another Bengali sleuth Feluda.^[22]

• The 2015 film Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! has introduced the character to a much broader international audience, and a whole new generation, who had never heard of him before.

• A 21st century Byomkesh (portrayed by Sushant Singh Rajput) has appeared in C.I.D. on 30 March 2015 along with Ajit (portrayed by Anand Tiwari), during the promotion of Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!.^[23]

Further reading[edit]

• The Bakshiphiles : India’s most popular detective now dominates screens in The Caravan
• The Curious Case of Byomkesh Bakshi in Live Mint
• The Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University-Assistant Professor Pinaki Roy's The Manichean Investigators: A Postcolonial and Cultural Rereading of the Sherlock Holmes and Byomkesh Bakshi Stories (New Delhi: Sarup and Sons, 2008, ISBN 978-81-7625-849-4) offers a postcolonial re-reading of the different Byomkesh Bakshi stories by Saradindu Bandyopadhyay.

References[edit]