 |
| (From left) Bibhu, Shaheb, Sabyasachi, Sandip and Biplab at the Ray residence on Bishop Lefroy Road. (Aranya Sen) |
The timer has been set for Feluda’s next screen outing, and Royal Bengal Rahasya (The Royal Bengal Mystery) may just be the most complicated, high-key case that Sandip Ray will have dealt with till now.
For one, it has lots of jungle and wildlife — a man-eating Royal Bengal Tiger on the loose no less. Second, Shree Venkatesh Films has come on board to up the tempo of Brand Feluda. Third, because Sandip feels Royal Bengal is more “cerebral, challenging and complex” than any of the other stories (Bombaiyer Bombete, Kailase Kelenkari, Tintorettor Jishu and Gorosthanay Sabdhaan) he has worked on so far.
“Royal Bengal Rahasya is a personal favourite. It has been there on my mind for a long time. It’s a tamper-proof story, a ready-made script.... I felt Gorosthanay was too verbose but since people have accepted it, I thought we could go for something more cerebral than that. Royal Bengal Rahasya is very exciting, content-wise and also visually,” says Sandip.
Though he was planning for Joto Kando Kathmandute, Sandip finally abandoned it as he feels the Nepal capital no more has “that dazzle”, of which his father Satyajit Ray wrote about. Also, logistics. “The entire equipment set would have to be taken via road since we wouldn’t get anything there. So we thought of considering something more convenient,” he adds.
His dream combo
Royal Bengal Rahasya is set in the forests of Dooars where Feluda arrives to crack a riddle, hinting at a treasure trail, on the invitation of a zamindar, who’s a shikari and wildlife writer. For many Feluda fans, including Topshe in the story, the icing on the cake is a hair-raising face-off between Feluda and a Royal Bengal tiger with a taste for humans. But the filmmaker doesn’t want to reveal how he is going about recreating it just yet. Computer graphics, special footage... all options are being considered. “Today’s children are used to The Chronicles of Narnia. So we can’t fool them with dated stuff,” he says.
Large chunks of the film will be shot in Dhenkanal in Orissa and north Bengal. And since jungle it is, the most excited member in the team currently is the sleuth himself — Sabyasachi Chakraborty.
“As a member of the state wildlife board, Benu (Sabyasachi) is well-versed with the rules and regulations, and we will go by what he says,” smiles Sandip.
 |
| Bhaswar chats with Sabyasachi and Shaheb. (Aranya Sen) |
For Sabyasachi, wilderness and Feluda is a “dream combo”. “I am very happy!” says the wildlife enthusiast and photographer, who will help out with the logistics. “But you know shooting in national parks and sanctuaries is harmful for the eco-system if you don’t do it with care. In fact, I had raised this issue at a wildlife board meeting... to stop shooting in these sites, but let’s see. Once Babuda (Sandip) decides on the spot, we will work around it,” he says.
Burning bright
Tiger or no tiger, the makers are promising a visual treat like never before. Co-producers Shree Venkatesh Films and Surinder Films are thinking really big. Think, er, Harry Potter.
“Feluda is a brand and we want to be associated with it. We are going to market the film in a huge way. Since Feluda is a series, it has the potential to be turned into something like the Harry Potter series.... We haven’t fixed a budget yet but we will spend whatever is needed to make it a great film. For instance, we are going to use VFX in this movie, something that has never been done in Tollywood before,” says Mahendra Soni of Shree Venkatesh. That’s not all. Planning is on for a near-and-far release — the US, UK and pan-India.
“We have been wanting to work with Sandipda for long. We had first approached him about 10 years ago, much before the Feluda films started, but it didn’t work out then,” adds Soni.
“I have been getting feelers from Venkatesh for quite some time; they came to me with a two-film offer — one Feluda and one non-Feluda. I said let’s do a Feluda first and we will take it from there,” says Sandip.
New players
Among the new entrants in the Feluda team is TV star Bhaswar Chatterjee, who plays the suspected victim of the tiger on the prowl. “I am nervous and excited,” he says.
The trio of Sabyasachi, Shaheb ‘Topshe’ Bhattacharya and Bibhu ‘Jatayu’ Bhattacharya apart, there’s Biplab Chatterjee, Basudeb Mukherji, Debesh Roy Chowdhury, Paran Bandopadhyay and Sanjib Sarkar in the cast.
Sandip, meanwhile, is not keen on taking Parambrata Chattopadhyay back as Topshe. He had picked Shaheb for Gorosthanay, when Parambrata left for studies in the UK two years ago.
“Many people have asked me about this but I don’t want to. Since the change we made has worked, I want to stick to it. Besides, I am happy with Shaheb’s work,” he says.
The youngest member in the cast, Shaheb is cautious about his next step. “People have accepted me in Gorosthanay Sabdhaan. Now I have to take it to the next level. This time I will try to do a few different things but of course with the director’s permission.”
Adieu? Not yet
Royal Bengal Rahasya may not be the last Feluda film after all, despite concerns of age catching up with Sabyasachi.
“People have accepted Gorosthanay, so (Sabyasachi’s) age does not seem to be a problem. And frankly speaking, there’s nobody else I can cast as Feluda. I would definitely want to do one more with him,” says Sandip.
Sabyasachi, on his part, would like to go on playing Feluda till “all my teeth are gone”. “I would do Feluda as long as the audience, my director and the producer want, but of course before I become Felukaku!” he quips.
