Director: Dibakar Banerjee
My Rating: 3/5
Detectives are one breed we are always fond of. They have their own set of work ethics, epic levels of intelligence and uncanny mannerisms which we hardly get but still they seduce us the way nectar is to bees. And to us Indians, the first name that comes to us when indulging with this genre is Byomkesh Bakshy. Perhaps one of the most loved vintage shows on Indian television. It would certainly be an understatement to say that the television show was a hit. It was much more than that. It made it a cult.
But our beloved director Dibakar Banerjee (Shanghai, Khosla ka Ghosla fame!) had more standards to overcome. This was not just going to be a reboot of the Byomkesh. It was certain that parallels would be drawn with the legend of Sherlock Homes. The TV series on Sherlock had raised the levels so high that any desi detective would appear to be an over ambitious kindergarten kid asking random questions to his mama.
Now, the plot is set in the 1940s when the British were all vulnerable and the Japanese were on the verge of an Indian imperial adventure. In the city of joy, a lowly but gifted chemist goes missing and Byomkesh is given the task to uncover the truth. But of course, this part is just superficial and there are multiple layers to the case that have the potential of determining the future of this enslaved nation. No doubt that the various parts of this jigsaw are brilliantly woven together but the biggest issue is the pace of the movie especially in the first half. This felt like watching Sherlock at 0.1X speed on VLC!
Coming to the performances, when your story has only one protagonist and everything revolves around him, it is quintessential to have someone who can maneuver his intensity levels at ease and unfortunately you have Sushant Singh Rajput who hardly has any intensity. In that period mustache he hardly looks like a detective and more like an accountant, no offence to that community and ICAS in particular. In fact, Neeraj Kabi portrays the negative lead with far more ease and brilliance. Another #EpicFail is the background score of the movie. Firstly the western nuances of the tunes do not gel well with the period and place represented and secondly the sudden outbursts are so not in sync. It reminded me of the terrible disaster when I tried a karaoke on stage. My friends at NACEN would empathize with this!
But, yes there is a but which is the saving grace. The last 15 minutes is a face saver for the talented director. Finally everything makes sense, there is a sense of mystery and the music falls in the right sweet spot. But like the name promises, it does not provide those brainy highs which a detective flick should. It would probably fail to make it a cult. Nevertheless, this desi version of Sherlock is not a waste!
My Rating: 3/5
Detectives are one breed we are always fond of. They have their own set of work ethics, epic levels of intelligence and uncanny mannerisms which we hardly get but still they seduce us the way nectar is to bees. And to us Indians, the first name that comes to us when indulging with this genre is Byomkesh Bakshy. Perhaps one of the most loved vintage shows on Indian television. It would certainly be an understatement to say that the television show was a hit. It was much more than that. It made it a cult.
But our beloved director Dibakar Banerjee (Shanghai, Khosla ka Ghosla fame!) had more standards to overcome. This was not just going to be a reboot of the Byomkesh. It was certain that parallels would be drawn with the legend of Sherlock Homes. The TV series on Sherlock had raised the levels so high that any desi detective would appear to be an over ambitious kindergarten kid asking random questions to his mama.
Now, the plot is set in the 1940s when the British were all vulnerable and the Japanese were on the verge of an Indian imperial adventure. In the city of joy, a lowly but gifted chemist goes missing and Byomkesh is given the task to uncover the truth. But of course, this part is just superficial and there are multiple layers to the case that have the potential of determining the future of this enslaved nation. No doubt that the various parts of this jigsaw are brilliantly woven together but the biggest issue is the pace of the movie especially in the first half. This felt like watching Sherlock at 0.1X speed on VLC!
Coming to the performances, when your story has only one protagonist and everything revolves around him, it is quintessential to have someone who can maneuver his intensity levels at ease and unfortunately you have Sushant Singh Rajput who hardly has any intensity. In that period mustache he hardly looks like a detective and more like an accountant, no offence to that community and ICAS in particular. In fact, Neeraj Kabi portrays the negative lead with far more ease and brilliance. Another #EpicFail is the background score of the movie. Firstly the western nuances of the tunes do not gel well with the period and place represented and secondly the sudden outbursts are so not in sync. It reminded me of the terrible disaster when I tried a karaoke on stage. My friends at NACEN would empathize with this!
But, yes there is a but which is the saving grace. The last 15 minutes is a face saver for the talented director. Finally everything makes sense, there is a sense of mystery and the music falls in the right sweet spot. But like the name promises, it does not provide those brainy highs which a detective flick should. It would probably fail to make it a cult. Nevertheless, this desi version of Sherlock is not a waste!
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