Directing 'Byomkesh' is a childhood dream come true: Dibakar Banerjee
New Delhi: Dibakar Banerjee is looking forward to realise his childhood dream by recreating the war-torn Kolkata of 1940s on the big screen with his ambitious adaptation of Sharadindu Banerjee's famous fictional character in "Detective Byomkesh Bakshi".
After successfully translating Greek author Vassilis Vassilikos "Z" in "Shanghai" and Satyajit Ray's story "Patol Babu, Film Star" in "Bombay Talkies", Dibakar felt it was right time to revisit the character that he grew up reading about.
"For many, the nostalgia for Byomkesh Bakshi comes from the Doordashan serial but my nostalgia for this character comes from reading Sharadindu's stories. I wanted to make a movie on Byomkesh since I was 12, so it is a dream come true.
I wanted it to be my first film but I am happy that I am doing it after having the experience of 4-5 films," the director told PTI in an interview.
He is confident that his version of "Byomkesh" will unravel things that have not been explored in other adaptations.
Dibakar's film is a contemporary interpretation of war torn Calcutta during the 1940's and follows the first adventure of Byomkesh, fresh out of college, as he fights an evil genius who is out to destroy the world.
"My film is the first original adaptation of Sharadindu's stories. We are going to the origin of Byomkesh as he solves his first ever case. Sharadindu wrote his stories over 30 years and there are many details that have been left untouched because most of the adaptations have dealt with the detective element only.
"Children were banned from reading Sharadindu's stories upto a certain age because there is a lot of seductiveness, adventure, thrill and romance. Byomkesh romanced while working on his cases," says Dibakar.
'Byomkesh' is a co-production venture between Dibakar Banerjee Productions and Yash Raj Films. It is the second film in their three film collaboration. The first movie is being directed by "Love Sex Aur Dhokha" writer Kanu Bahl.
Sushant Singh Rajput will play the lead character in the film which is slated to release in cinemas worldwide on December 12, 2014. Dibakar has been working on researching the story for almost a year now and he is excited to visit the vintage Kolkata through his lenses.
"Imagine watching Byomkesh during a chase sequence in a tram in 1940s Kolkata. I find that interesting. We are going to establish his character in the film from the time he leaves college and starts working on his first case. There has been no film on Byomkesh in Hindi so we have the scope to narrate our story on a big scale and atmosphere," Dibakar said. PTI
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