Byomkesh Bakshi

Some fictional characters are so lifelike that they are often accepted as real. These characters have been created by writers and films. William Shakespeare has given several immortal characters, so have a number of foreign and Indian writers. Even Indian films have not lagged far behind in this achievement; just one illustration is Gabbar whose dialogues continue to echo in all the assemblies that take place all around us.

One of such fictional character remains that of Byomkesh Bakshi, whose sketch has remained popular over a long period of time. Whenever you take this name, your mind immediately wanders to a typical Bengali person, wrapped in a dhoti, cleaning the glasses with a corner of the dhoti, with bright eyes and exploring and searching looks, while the visage is covered in innocence and intelligence. Of course, the face remains indistinct only because of the fact that this fictional character has been played on screen by a number of actors; but the underlying spirit remains common to all of them. As you think more of him, a spirit of mystery starts to envelop you from the very outset; and that is the beauty of the marvellous creation, made a reality by the well-known Bengali writer Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.

Byomkesh Bakshi has been a popular character in Bengali literature for decades ever since he was characterised by the writer in 1932. The writer went on to write thirty-two completed stories, and when he was in the course of writing the thirty-third, the cruel hands of death snatched him away from us, and with this our desire remained unfulfilled to have more intriguing and mysterious stories with the ingenuous detective at work. The first story by the writer was Satyanveshi in 1932, and it became an instant hit; and there were causes behind its becoming popular in no time. The thirty-second story, the last complete one, by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay was Lohar Biscuit, published in 1969. Just imagine the length of time, about four decade long, in which the writer has immaculately cultivated and developed the character, from youth to old age while still keeping his investigative skills intact; and that remains a beauty of his writing. The last story, which could not be completed by the writer owing to his unfortunate death, was Bishupal Bodh in 1970.

It would be interesting to know the names of the other stories by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, which are as follows : Pother Kanta in 1932, Seemanto-heera in 1932, Makorshar Rosh in 1933, Arthammanartham in 1933, Chorabali in 1933, Agnibaan in 1935, Uposonghaar in 1935, Roktomukhi Neela in 1936, Byomkesh O Boroda in 1936; after this, there came a gap of 15 years and then came the next story Chitrochor in 1951, Durgo-rahasyo in 1952, Chiriyakhana in 1953, Adim Ripu in 1955, Banhi-patanga in 1956, Rokter Daag in 1956, Monimondon in 1958, Amriter Mrityu in 1959, Shailo Rahasya in 1959, Achin Pakhi in 1960, Kohen Kobi Kalidas in 1961, Khunji Khunji Nari in 1961, Adwitiyo in 1961, Mognomoinak in 1963, Dushtochokro in 1963, Henyalir Chhondo in 1964, Room Number Dui in 1964, Chholonar Chhondo in 1965, Shojarur Kanta in 1967 and Benishonghar in 1968. We have already told you about his last complete story Lohar Biscuit which was published in 1969 and the incomplete story was Bishupal Bodh which could not be completed due to untimely death of the great author.

Indian literature in general and Bengali literature in particular were not devoid of stories and books revolving round detectives; but most of them attained only mediocre popularity. Though Byomkesh Bakshi was just one more addition to the list of detectives, yet the way he worked distinguished him from the other detectives of his genre. The earlier detectives seemed to be heavily drawn from the immortal character of Sherlock Holmes, as created by Arthur Conan Doyle; and the setting seemed to be London or other parts of Europe in disguise for Kolkata. This was the first time that a writer had depicted Kolkata in its essential characteristics, with hidden features and surprises that the city threw up at every turn in fictional and factual life. Moreover, the stories depict the people of the city in far more realistic terms. To add to all this, Byomkesh Bakshi thinks in a unique way, and does not try to copy Sherlock Holmes or Hercules Poirot; rather adopts some original method in resolving mysteries without having to sacrifice his ethical code of conduct as observed by Indians; and this approach made him instantly popular with the readers. One more thing that worked in favour of his mass appeal is that he loves a woman and is married to her and has a family unlike the other famous detective characters. His wife's name is Satyaboti, who never shies away from a battle of wits with her illustrious husband and is described by Byomkesh Bakshi himself as ‘a remarkable girl who retains rare grace under pressure, unlike the greater percentage of Bengali girls who turn into wooden dolls’.

Byomkesh Bakshi's portrayal in films and television serials has only made him one of the most enduring characters of Bengali and Indian literature. The first film based on him came in 1967 which was based on Sharadindu’s story Chiriyakhana and was directed by Satyajit Ray and had an ensemble cast of contemporary stars. Uttam Kumar played Bakshi in this film, and Satyajit Ray went on to win a National Award for this film.

The next film to portray the sleuth was Shajarur Kanta in 1974, directed by Manju Dey and produced by Star Productions. In it, Satindra Bhattacharya acted as Bakshi, and the film was popular with the viewers.

There was a gap of over three decades for the next film to be made, but this was the time when the Doordarshan made a serial on the character, which made him a household name in India. This serial was telecast in the year 1993 in which Rajit Kapoor did the role of this famous detective Byomkesh Bakshi in a graceful and elegant manner. K.K. Raina acted as Ajit, Byomkesh Bakshi’s chronicler, assistant and dear friend, and was the perfect fit for the role. The role of Satyaboti was played by Sukanya Kulkarni. The series became so popular in India that people started to recognise Rajit Kapoor as the real detective named Byomkesh Bakshi. The series was aired for 33 episodes on DD1 in 1993, and again in 1997. Its popularity can be gauged from the fact that during the lockdown in March-April-May 2020 due to Corona pandemic, the serial was re-broadcast along with such famous serials as Ramayana, Mahabharata and others.

In the year 2004, the Doordarshan went for another series on this great detective, titled Byomkesh Bakshi. It was directed by Swapan Ghoshal, and the role of the detective was played by Sudit Mukherjee, Ajit was played by Debdut Ghosh while Satyaboti was played by Maitreyi Mitra. The serial went on to attain accolades for its delicate picturisation and portrayal of the surroundings.

Yet another television adaptation was Byomkesh in 2007, which was again directed by Swapan Ghoshal in collaboration with Tara Muzik, a private Bengali television channel. The role of Bakshi was played by Saptarshi Roy; this serial gave secondary importance to the roles of Ajit and Satyaboti.

In 2014, yet another television series titled Byomkesh was aired on ETV Bangla, in which the role of Byomkesh Bakshi was played by Gaurav Chakrabarty.

In 2014, Byomkesh Bakshi acquired international connotations when in the episode The Mommy Observation of the US TV series The Big Bang Theory, the character Bernadette Rostenkowski refers to Bakshi as Indian Sherlock Holmes while Raj Koothrappali refers Sherlock Holmes as the English Byomkesh Bakshi.

As far as the silver screen is concerned in the new millennium, the Byomkesh Bakshi fever has again caught on with Dibankar Banerjee’s Sushant Singh Rajput starrer Detective Byomkesh Bakshi, which was released in 2015.

The audio adaptation has been taken for a total of seven novels of Byomkesh Bakshi for airing in the Sunday Suspense series of 98.3 Radio Mirchi (Kolkata), in which are included Satyanveshi, Makorshar Rosh, Agnibaan, Roktomukhi Neela, Khinji Khunji Nari, Adwitiyo and Lohar Biscuit.

It would be interesting to note the way Byomkesh Bakshi works. He abhors the word ‘detective’ and likes others to call himself ‘Satyanveshi’, one who is the seeker of truth. It can be seen in some of the stories where he is more interested in finding the truth rather than giving justice to the parties involved. He uses the method where he puts himself in place of the criminal and then thinks what he would himself have done. This, however, sometimes makes him empathise with the criminal and thus he would let the criminal escape from the hands of the law. He has a working knowledge of many Indian texts and Sanskrit classics as he would frequently quote from the Mahabharata or other Indian texts. He would use the method of deductive reasoning, that is, logic or reason to arrive at the final opinion or inference so as to crack a particular case, and he amazingly finds himself at the most adequate one, and here lies the greatness of this great fictional character. This is this quality of him that fools readers and viewers not to disbelieve in the actual existence of him, so realistic the portrayal is.