Sleuth-cum-adventurer

Sumanta as Kakababu, Aritra as Santu and Mumtaz as Debolina

He is more of an adventurer than a sleuth and he walks with a limp. Following in the footsteps of Feluda and Bomkesh Bakshi, Kakababu, whose thrills and spills with his nephew Santu are a great hit with kids, is coming to the big screen.

Mon Amour maker Subhrajit Mitra is breathing life into the detective created by Sunil Gangopadhyay in three films titled after the stories they are based on — Kolkatar Jangoley, Rajbarir Rahasya and Sinduk Rahasya.

“I have always been fascinated by Kakababu and wanted to adapt Sunil Gangopadhyay’s stories on screen, because adventure films aren’t made for children anymore and I think Kakababu will appeal to them a lot,” said Subhrajit, who has finished shooting both Kolkatar Jangoley and Rajbarir Rahasya.

“Kakababu is an antithesis to Feluda and Bomkesh. He is not a sleuth; he is an adventurer. He used to work with the Archaeological Survey of India before becoming an adventurer. Though the stories I have chosen are set in the Seventies, I have made Kakababu a contemporary character. He uses a modern crutch and his nephew Santu is in the first year of college,” he added.

Sumanta Mukherjee (Girish Ghosh in Abohoman) plays Kakababu, who had earlier been brought alive by Samit Bhanja in Sabuj Dwiper Raja.

Aritra Dutta plays Santu and Mumtaz Sorcar plays Debolina, a character that appears in all three stories. Mrinal Mukherjee plays the villain in Kolkatar Jangoley and Barun Chanda the wicked tantrik in Rajbarir Rahasya.

Subhrajit Mitra

“I feel Sumantada is the right fit for the role. He is a lot like Kakababu physically. Aritra is very convincing as his nephew, Santu, and Mumtaz slipped into the shoes of Debolina very easily. It isn’t like acting for her at all.... I chose Kolkatar Jangoley and Rajbarir Rahasya because most Kakababu stories are set in faraway places and those would have increased the budget. But with these two, I could shoot in places closer home — Burdwan and Udaipur in Orissa.... Kolkatar Jangoley is about trafficking of people and animal skin, and illegal trade of antiques. Rajbarir Rahasya revolves around a tantrik’s claims of knowing all about the occult,” said the director.

Subhrajit hits the floors soon for Sinduk Rahasya. P.B. Chaki is steering the camera; Kalyan Sen Barat is scoring the music. All three films will be aired on Mahuaa Bangla before a theatrical release.