Saswata Chatterjee, Ishaa Saha and Gaurav Chakrabarty have joined the cast of The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishikha, the latest instalment of the detective franchise starring Anirban Chakrabarti as the quirky sleuth. Directed by Joydeep Mukherjee, the film will release in theatres on May 16.

Rishav Basu, Debesh Chattopadhyay, Rishav Basu, Biswanath Basu, Sagnik Chatterjee and Kaushik Hafizee, Sreeja Bhattacharya are also part of the ensemble.

Anirban Chakrabarti is set to reprise his role as the quirky and sharp-witted sleuth, Ekendra Sen aka Eken Babu, who finds himself in Varanasi this time. The Joydeep Mukherjee-directed film is based on a novel written by Sujan Dasgupta. Somak Ghosh and Suhatro Mukhopadhyay reprise their roles as Promotho and Bapi, Eken’s loyal companions.

The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishikha is part of the four-film slate announced by Hoichoi Studios for 2025. The other releases this year from the studio include, Kader Kuler Bou, created by Srijit Roy and Souvik Chakraborty, Kumir Danga, directed by Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Gora-e Gondogol, created by Sahana Dutta.

Eken Babu first captured audiences’ hearts in March 2018 with its debut on Hoichoi. The series, based on stories by Sujan Dasgupta, introduced viewers to an unassuming yet brilliant detective. Over the years, Eken Babu’s adventures have spanned various locations, including Bengaluru, Kolkata, Murshidabad, Dhaka, Tungkulung and Puri.

In addition to its digital success, Eken Babu has made a seamless transition to the big screen, with two feature films to its credit. The first film, The Eken, hit theatres in April 2022, taking the detective to Darjeeling for a case. The second, The Eken: Ruddhaswas Rajasthan, released in April 2023, showcased an investigation in Rajasthan.

Puro Puri Eken, the eighth instalment in the Eken Babu web series franchise, dropped on Hoichoi earlier this year.