(From top) Souradip, son of Sandip Ray, with the clapstick for a shot involving Sabyasachi and Tota; Sandip behind the viewfinder; Sabyasachi with Parambrata. Pictures by Aranya Sen

Three years after an action-packed showdown with the ?thugs of Bombay?, Bengal?s favourite sleuth ? tall and strapping with a piercing gaze and a razor sharp mind ? is leaping out from a Satyajit Ray bestseller to the big screen again.

On Thursday, Feluda was found chatting with Topshe in his bedroom (?which now has a TV!? says Sabyasachi Chakraborty) at 27, Rajani Sen Road, when Robin Chowdhury (Tota Roy Chowdhury) steps in to share a clue in the robbery of Tintoretto?s priceless painting. From the other end of the room at the New Alipore address, filmmaker Sandip Ray trains his camera on his actors, brows furrowed in thought.

For his second Feluda film, Tintorettor Jishu, Sandip is repeating the tried-and-tested trio of Sabyasachi (Feluda), Parambrata Chatterjee (Topshe) and Bibhu Bhattacharya (Lalmohan Ganguly). Tota and Bhaskar Banerjee are in other pivotal roles. The film, produced by Kamal Bansal, is eyeing a November release.

Sandip and his team started off with a 10-day shoot in the dacoit-infested forests of Jhargram in early February, where a palace formed the hub of action. That?s Baikunthapur in Ray?s text, a zamindari household in the obscure suburbs of Calcutta from where an original Tintoretto painting is smuggled out to Hong Kong. To chase the mafia and retrieve the artwork, Feluda and Co. will fly to Hong Kong sometime in April.

?I have restructured the story and turned it into a straightforward thriller. We have done away with the whodunnit format as in Bombaiyer Bombete. You know who the culprits are from the beginning; it?s how Feluda cracks the case which is most interesting here,? explains Sandip, who will now have to beat himself at his own game. Bombaiyer Bombete, released in December 2003, had a 20-week run at Priya, followed by a rerun, re-establishing Feluda as one of the biggest brands in Bengal.

?It?s difficult fighting with one?s own film,? laughs Sandip, pondering on the differences between the two sleuth stories penned by his father. ?Bombaiyer Bombete didn?t have the variety of Tintorettor Jishu. Here, we are moving from Calcutta to the suburbs to Chhattisgarh and finally to Hong Kong. Here there?s action plus a lot of cerebral element. There has been a clamour from Feluda clubs and fans to make the next film a little more subtle,? he adds.

That apart, Sandip is sticking to the Bombaiyer Bombete format. ?The story that was written in the 1980s has been updated. Feluda still isn?t using a cell phone, though others in the film will be shown with mobile phones. But that doesn?t mean Feluda is old-fashioned; he is very much in touch with the latest technology. And since Feluda hasn?t changed much, Topshe has remained the same too.?

But wouldn?t that mean Topshe lagging behind today?s youth? ?I had initially feared that about Topshe. So I have intentionally shown him in his early 20s and Feluda is somewhere in his mid or late 30s. But his age can?t be stretched any further as it is difficult to do so with fictional characters,? says Sandip, who will also be arranging the music.

For the painting of Jishu by Renaissance artist Tintoretto, which forms the fulcrum of the story, Sandip has got two copies (an original and a fake) made by a local hand. ?Tintoretto was a Church painter and Jesus formed the main theme of his work ? from the birth to crucifixion. He has done some fascinating murals on Jesus. But the film doesn?t demand those details so I have kept them out. But Tintoretto is there, all over the film, in little measures,? adds the filmmaker.

Wife Lalita, as in his other films, has helped Sandip decide on the wardrobe of the central characters. ?Only the textile and the texture of the fabric Feluda is wearing has changed, but the character itself has remained the same? and we didn?t need to do any workshops before this film,? stresses Sabyasachi.

?The three of us have a very good understanding off the sets too and that helps our acting,? feels Bibhu.

Parambrata, who is ?more at ease with acting? since his Bombaiyer Bombete days, says: ?Tintorettor Jishu has a nice rising graph ? in terms of visuals and climax build-up. The locales are changing and the narrative moves simultaneously.?

For Tota, the brief is to be his normal self. ?My portion involves some action in Hong Kong and I am just raring to do martial arts,? smiles Tota.