Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!

Plot synopsis:
Synopsis as provided by Srijana Mitra Das in the Times of India (4 April 2015):It's 1942 and Calcutta is ruled by the British Raj. Its underworld is ruled by Chinese gangsters smuggling opium from Shanghai. A vicious fight breaks out within one such gang at the Calcutta docks where gangster Yun Gong brutally blinds one rival and is then thought to be killed.Meanwhile, bright student Byomkesh Bakshy (Sushant) is approached by Ajit Banerjee for help in finding his missing father Bhuvan babu. Initially, Byomkesh refuses and even suggests Bhuvan may be mixed up in dodgy business, at which Ajit angrily slaps him. The same day, Byomkesh's girlfriend Leela tells him she's marrying a well-placed chemistry student instead of him.Byomkesh seeks out Ajit and agrees to take his case. He visits Bhuvan's lodging home and meets Dr. Guha and Kanai Dao who legally sells opium. He also finds Bhuvan's beloved paan box is still in his room, hidden by his roommate who's oddly addicted to the paan masala. Byomkesh is convinced Bhuvan has been killed as his box and money are still in his room.Byomkesh visits the Sikdar chemical factory, now shut down, where Bhuvan used to work. There he sees film star Angoori taking a swim. She's amused by him and offers him a ride home. In the car, when he asks if she knows of Bhuvan, she pulls her handbag nervously to herself. In her studio, as she shoots, Byomkesh opens the bag and finds letters from cut-out newspapers, blackmailing the factory owner Sikdar babu, a friend of Angoori's.He's convinced Sikdar has killed Bhuvan when the latter tried to blackmail him. Byomkesh goes back to the factory with Dr. Guha and they pretend to the watchmen that they've come to fix a mouse problem. Poking around in the factory, they find Bhuvan's slashed, decomposed body stuffed into a machine.Sikdar is brought in by police commissioner Wilkie for questioning - but just then, Byomkesh discovers he's wrong and Sikdar is being framed as the newspapers only reach the lodging house at 8:30 AM every day while the blackmail letters were stamped at 7:30 AM at the post office, showing a false detail. Dr. Guha vanishes but sends Byomkesh a note, admitting he was blackmailing Sikdar, not Bhuvan babu.Sikdar is freed and Byomkesh follows him home but is detained by Angoori who tries to kiss him. He gently rebuffs her but when he goes to meet Sikdar, the latter is suddenly poisoned and dies. Suspicion falls on his rebellious nephew Sukumar who has opened a rival political party and is militant about India's freedom from the British. Sukumar's sister Satyawati pleads with Byomkesh to help her brother, who's driven off earlier in a cab used by Byomkesh.Byomkesh finds the Sardarji cabbie Sukumar drove off with, reaching a Japanese dentist Dr. Watnabe's clinic where the secretary says Watanabe is at the temple. Byomkesh and Ajit go to the temple, pretending they have a link with Sukumar's political party, but Watanabe is suspicious. Another member of Sukumar's party recognizes them and follows them at Watanabe's orders. Byomkesh and Ajit change their costumes and then follow the student back to the dentist's - where they find the secretary and student brutally murdered with a shadowy character escaping in a car.Byomkesh takes a paper out from the student's pocket - it's a map of Calcutta's river route. They return to the lodgers' house where Byomkesh feels low. He tries some of Bhuvan babu's paan masala and finds it is laced with heroin. Making a wall-painting of the entire crime, Byomkesh has the heroin presence confirmed by Leela's chemist husband who says this heroin is very hard to trace and made from opium - which Dao, who admits he's an undercover cop, tells Byomkesh has practically vanished from the city.Byomkesh finds there are two plots together here. The first is the Chinese gang warfare over opium, turned into untraceable heroin by Bhuvan babu's secret formula. The second is of Sukumar's political party being told by the Japanese army that they will land in Calcutta via its river routes and liberate the city from the British.The link between the two deadly plots is the mysterious Yun Gong.Meanwhile, Dr. Guha returns to the lodging house and tells Byomkesh he's a nationalist fighting for India's freedom. He offers Byomkesh a role to play in the struggle and says other peoples' murders are the price for this. Byomkesh asks Dao to take him to the Chinese gang which tells him about the deadly Gong. Byomkesh divulges all the facts to commissioner Wilkie and asks him to sound all the air raid sirens of Calcutta at 4 AM on Basant Panchami. He is convinced the Japanese will attack Calcutta through its river routes then and Gong will help them, so that they let him control the hugely rich opium trade.Byomkesh sends Dr. Guha a letter inviting him to the lodging house. Dr. Guha, Sukumar, Watanabe and Satyawati come there, as does Angoori who's told Byomkesh she's loved Gong from their days together in Rangoon and has been trying to mislead Byomkesh on Gong's orders. She hasn't seen him recently though and doesn't recognize him - not even when Byomkesh reveals Dr. Guha is actually the dreaded Gong.Angoori tries to stop Gong from helping the Japanese conquer Calcutta but he brutally murders her. The Chinese gang hidden by Byomkesh in the lodging house then attacks and takes away Gong who gets distracted by the air sirens going off. Byomkesh tells the Japanese doctor their game is up and the British army will crush their forces if they try to attack. He gives up.Byomkesh then tells Satywati he wants to marry her as the price for proving Sukumar's innocence. Meanwhile, Gong manages to kill the entire Chinese gang and escapes - promising Byomkesh revenge.

Tags: violence, murder, romantic

Review:
"Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!" stars Sushant Singh Rajput, Neeraj Kabi, Anand Tiwari, Swastika Mukherjee, Meiyang Chang, and Divya Menon in major roles.
Banerjee seems to have a penchant for making dark films like "Shanghai" and "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!".
It's never a cinch to recreate a certain epoch in history and the fact that Banerjee and team meticulously reconstructed the 1940s Calcutta not only speak volumes about their commitment but actually help orchestrate an enchanting mise-en-scène that adds great detail to a sprawling period piece like "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!" Add to this a thick plot, actors who can act with conviction, some brilliantly crafted dialogue, thrash metal music, Leone's signature camera movements, Welles' characteristic use of shadows and silhouettes, and shades of Tarantino-esque violence.
Sublime his way with words, sharp his mind and snazzy his attire, Sushant Singh Rajput dazzles as the Indian counterpart of the well known mastermind.Revitalizing the ingenuously crafted characters of Bandopadhyay, laughs gelled up here and there, Dibakar Bannerjee creates a thriller turning out in no more than 15 to 20 minutes to be a very intriguing flick as Bakshy Babu untangles the mystery by joining the pieces from the fragments of hints scattered across the locale.What's so different about the movie is that it takes the road less traveled by.
Its a moody period film, that works hugely as a suspense-thriller!'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!' Synopsis: In a contemporary interpretation of war torn Calcutta during the 1940's, the film follows the first adventure of Byomkesh (Sushant Singh Rajput), fresh out of college, as he pits himself against an evil genius who is out to destroy the world.
Went to the first show and was so happy that the movie is just what i was expecting - A good mystery detective flick with little bit comedy, little bit action and lots of thrill and awesome scenes.
Detective Byomkesh Bakshi (or as Yashraj Films has forcefully inserted it self in the title with BakshY) does a lot of things right, it hired an excellent director- Dibakar Banerjee and spent a lot of time, effort and money in building the DBB's 1943 Calcutta.
DBB's Bakshy is more relatable to the common man but isn't as cultured as you'd expect Byomkesh to be.Now on to the main gripe, the plot, the plot is BAD and it's the worst kind of bad, it's promising and engaging, though I had some minor grievances but the first half of the film was great, and then it turns into a hot mess.
Still better than an average Hindi movie for example it has almost no action scenes, your protagonist can't swing a punch to save his life showcasing he is a thinker not a fighter and the direction is great too showing some brilliance of Byomkesh but the plot of the film itself is ludicrous.
Don't Spend your Money On this, Waste of Time and Intelligence, I generally have high hopes from YashRaj Movie, But so far this movie is utter disappointment, A Noir, Nicely Packeaged, and Highly Publicized, lacks Everything, Poor Starting, Worst Story Ever, and Highly Publicized Climax is also very Poor, Negative Lead was Kept Under Wrapped, and Was Highly Publicized however it is very disappointing, and Story from Start to End just Sucks, There is nothing in this movie that you can tolerate for 2.30 Hours, Even Construction of Plot is so poor, that In between only You loose Interest, Cinematography is equally Poor, Sets are as per Yashraj Standard, but thats it, Don't watch this Movie, its just 2.30 Hours of Complete Non Sense, with No Acting, No Story Line, No Music, and Worst Climax,.
The story of a detective called Byomkesh Bakshi in the time of war- ridden Calcutta, solving a murder mystery that might lead to the truth.
Dibaker Banerjee, the man behind classics like Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Love Sex Aur Dokha and Shanghai, goes back to old charm of probably the most famous detective character Byomkesh Bakshi but disappoints big time.
The film stars Sushant Singh Rajput, Anand Tiwari and Swastika Mukherjee in principal roles.Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!
Byomkesh Bakshi,the celebrated fictional character and brainchild of Bengali writer Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay is not really a detective you usually come across in movies and more of a 'Satyanveshi',as the novel says,one among us but a second faster when it comes to working out the brains.Dibakar Banerjee's Detective Byomkesh Bakshi has Byomkesh Babu in his early phase as a budding detective trying to clear the air of mystery around the sudden disappearance of a chemist.Set in the dark,bloody and frenzied era of early 1940s Calcutta,Detective Byomkesh Bakshi is a contemporary interpretation of an excerpt from the classic novel which manages to recreate those violent times filled with shadows,mystery and suspense brilliantly with breath-taking detail in each and every frame.The trams,the dressing,the buildings,the sign boards and all that comes into the frame has been reproduced brilliantly and Vandana Kataria,the one who helmed the art direction department deserves a standing ovation for such perfection in the whole setting along with cinematographer Nikos Andritsakis who has managed to capture the essence and beauty of the period so enchantingly on screen.Dibakar's dexterity in narration was evident through films like Khosla Ka Ghosla,Love Sex Aur Dhoka,Oye Lucky Lucky Oye!
etc and here too he manages to hold the suspense quiet firmly till the end,keeping the audience glued to the screens,making them a part of the investigation along with Bakshi.The attack of the Japanese army,the drug wars between the Chineese gangs,the revolts for freedom all manages to be a part of the screenplay written by Dibakar himself and Urmi Juvekar,the end result being an intriguing investigative thriller set in and around the dark aura of the second world war that had an enormous impact on the social and political life of Calcutta.The violent scenes had a Tarantino-ish feel with the climax scene reminding of sequence from Kill Bill.The movie moves an a slow pace which may be unsuitable for some,but in my opinion the slow pace had a beauty of its own,providing the narration a realistic feel.The second half of the movie wasn't smooth in comparison with the first and the revelation of the villain could have been dealt better so as to get more impact on screen considering the excellent buildup that was generated.The open climax gives hint of chances for a sequel which would mean the development of a popular franchise on the lines of Hollywood films,solely dependent on the box office performance of this movie.Music and Score by a bunch of artists,the likes of Sneha Khanwalkar,Peter Cat Recording Co. and Madboy/Mink played a major role in giving liveliness to the narration and was utilized really well to convey the tension,excitement and mystery arising in the sequences.Coming to the performances,Sushant Singh Rajput did his part really well and managed to give justice to the character with proper mannerisms and body language that the character demanded.Anand Tiwari reminded of Dr.Watson from the Sherlock series and gave good support to the title character.Neeraj Kabi was really impressive as Dr.Anukul Guha.Swastika Mukherjee,Meiyang Chang etc were OK.Overall,Detective Byomkesh Bakshi is a well-narrated crime thriller with negligible flaws,worth a watch for all those with a taste for investigative thrillers.Verdict::With Detective Byomkesh Bakshi,Dibakar Banerjee provides a cinematic life to the popular character Byomkesh Bakshi,recreating the dark era of 1940s masterfully and has succeeded in producing an intriguing crime thriller with originality in narration.
Lucky Oye!', 'Love Sex aur Dhokha') takes us back in time, all with detailed set pieces, costumes and the victorian elegance of Calcutta, to the origins of 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy' who will soon deduce that the case of the missing person is actually a convoluted sub-plot of a grand scheme that will affect global domination and drug control.
Directed by Dibakar Banerjee is an impeccably crafted noir thriller which is based on the characters created by Saradindu Bandyopadhayay in his enduring literary series.The movie is set in Calcutta of the 1940's.
a Dark detective thriller with the story building up at a rather slow but perfect pace.It makes you keep guessing till the end, with amazing detailing in each scene , if u want to relax and chill out in the theater you might not this movie.Each and every scene is so beautiful.
There are so many things going on in parallel , too much of attention is required , else you might miss it.Sushant is a surprise package here , his transition from a not so confident detective(truth seeker) to a the confident Byomkesh Bakshi by the end of the movie is amazing.
You will be in awe with the way he has crafted this character along with the focus he has put into the minutest of details- the city, Sushant's look, the background score etc.As far I am concerned, I liked the pace of the film and the ending too.
The wait for a decent sleuth drama from Bollywood is over as Dibakar Banerjee is here with his latest movie- Detective Byomkesh Bakshy (yes it is a "bakshi" with a y)..
The biggest problem a period film has to face is of recreating the era in which story is based, but Byomkesh Bakshy does manage to get good on that front as Calcutta of 1942 created by movie is quite close to how it must have been.Apart from pacing the problem with the movie is its on-off track.
Dibakar Banerjee has already proved his talent with his previous body of work and Detective Byomkesh Bakshi takes that a notch higher.With fine performances by the supporting cast, tight script and an exceptional background score Byomkesh is definitely the India's answer to Sherlock Holmes, and the best past is that it is in no way a rip off or copy of the Sherlock movies of TV series.If there is one genre with which Bollywood has struggled the most then it has to be a good detective movie but Detective Byomkesh Bakshi does manage to get it done for Bollywood to quiet an extent.
The movie is very interesting and with nice detective skills and terrific mysteries.The story is good and very interesting.The story is about a man who hires a detective to solve the mystery behind his missing father.The direction was good.The screenplay was awesome.The editing was a little slow.The songs and dialouges were OK.The acting was good and awesome from sushant singh Rajput,the way he acted like a detective was brilliant.More movies like this should be made more from Bollywood.Overall if you like a dective and suspense thriller you will enjoy and like this one.But I have loved the detective skills like when he said when someone looks somewhere he must be hiding something there only.
The Film is based on Iconic Character created by Shardindu Bandyopadhyay in 1932.The movie revolves around a Detective who needs to find out his clients father and the story is set in Pre Independence Calcutta during World War-2.Byomkesh is a North Indian Bengali fresh out of College agrees to Investigate the disappearance of Bhavan , a Chemist.
Byomkesh links the case to large conspiracy which is thread to all of Calcutta.The Screenplay of the movie is written very beautifully by Director Himself Dibakar Banerjee and the Co-writer Urmi Juvekar, the script is very compact.Its a delicious dark story and requires patience to watch we have to indulge Director Dibakar Banerjee as He Indulges himself the opening sequence stuns you and then the story telling goes static.The Lush Camera work by Nikos Andritsakis is appreciable and the sound track by Sneha Khandwalkar, the sound design by Allwin Rego and Sanjay Mourya & Art Direction by Sachin Bhoir everything is done amazingly and most of all beautifully detailed production design by Vandana Kataria even the stains of the wall of the boarding house where much of the action takes place are artful , each frame has been crafted amazingly.After Interval the pace picks up and the film climax is in bang.
I also enjoyed Swastika Mukherjee as the sexy and mysterious actress Angoori Devi.If I would have to choose to watch one in between Fast and Furious and Detective Byomkesh Bakshi which was released on the same day then I will choose 2nd one as its an Amazing Indian Detective movie and the credit goes to Dibakar Banerjee and team.If I would have to rate it out of 5 then I will give it 4..
And then the mystery of a missing father begins with a sex and political angle thrown in to add some extra spice to the big case taken up by the known Detective.Having said that, the overall pace and excitement level in the narration remains extremely low and it goes into an even more dull phase post intermission when many dark secrets get slowly revealed heading towards a quite over the top and hamming climax (clearly inspired from the west), not expected from the director like Dibakar Bannerjee.
Putting it straight, in the final hour, he takes the movie into a completely different phase with few boringly long sequences, un-required action, exaggerated expressions and an open climax minus any thrilling moments making no impact whatsoever on the common man willing to see an exciting ending expected from a murder mystery.In fact it's quite shocking to see such a slow paced, uninspiring detective movie without any enjoyable high points from the director of entertaining films such as LSD, OYE LUCKY!
But if only Dibakar had made it entertaining enough for the end user instead of getting lost in his own creation, the film would have provided a great viewing experience to all Byomkesh Bakshi die-hard fans for sure.Coming to its weakest point dealing with performances, though Sushant Singh Rajput tries hard and his level best to portray the iconic role, he simply couldn't deliver due to the badly written character largely deviating from the original persona of the detective as known to the (Hindi) viewers who still remember Byomkesh as Rajit Kapoor with his innocent sweet smile dressed in a simple white attire.
is a mystery crime thriller by Dibakar Banerjee with Sushant Singh Rajput,Anand Tiwari and Swastika Mukherjee.Direction is good with superb story and screenplay.Story starts with Calcutta in 1942,Ajit(Anand Tiwari) hired Byomkesh Bakshy(Sushant Singh Rajput) to find his father who is missing for more than two months.After some investigation Byomkesh finds that Ajit's father has been killed.He also finds that there is connection between murder and one political leader,Chinese drug smuggler and Japanese army.So how he solves this mystery is all in the movie.Performance of all characters are good and that makes the movie worth watching.Story is interesting and holds you till the suspense comes out and after that too.Overall,this a kind of mystery that even you would love solve.Go for this.Recommended!!.
is the indigenous version of Sherlock Holmes which has the potential of becoming a strong franchise.Evoking nostalgia with respect to the Doordarshan serial in the same name, this flick ticks off with the Byomkesh(Sushant Rajput) fresh out of college , being approached by a classmate(Anand Tiwari) for finding his missing father.This leads him to a lodge managed by Dr Guha(Neeraj Kabi) where he encounters an array of interesting yet suspicious characters.As the case progresses, Byomkesh discovers that it is not a mere murder case, but something more deadly in gigantic proportions - a nexus of drug lords running the opium trade, undercover cops and diabolic freedom fighters who want to free Calcutta from the British rule.Dibakar Banerjee effectively builds mystery and intrigue against the backdrop of war-torn Calcutta(Kolkata) in the pre-independence era,somewhere in the 1940's,with the protagonist solving a murder case where each character turns out to be a suspect.Brimming with artistic delight, Byomkesh Bakshy!
Each corner has a detail, thanks to the awesome set designs(Vandana Kataria) and Banerjee's expertise is marked by the nuances of the lifestyle of the bygone era which makes for an easy slip into the elegance of the quaint Calcutta.His execution is sinusoidal, there are stray moments of excitement,contrived conversations and joyful escapades.And yes, it is not easy to gulp.With blood-soaked bodies, decayed corpses, Banerjee makes it awkward and believable.A moody background score with heavy influence of rock music(Alwyn Rego) sets the pitch for this delicious thriller.With a lazy pace, the mystery unfolds in the dark and smoky lanes of Calcutta interestingly and Sushant Singh Rajput does a brilliant job in fleshing out the titular character.The dhoti-clad sleuth is vulnerable, has a fragile ego and yet very sharp and analytical.Its a challenging role to play, and Sushant makes the character evolve as the tangled case progresses almost in a slow-motion manner.The only drawback I could detect was in its overdone climax and unnecessary bloodshed,the hint for a sequel notwithstanding.
And of course, the way this new Indian Hero has been pitched and filmed by Dibakar Banerjee and team, audience is definitely expecting a prequel portraying the early life of this Truth seeker!!Though some of the viewers might find it predictable, but even to them, the way film has been weaved around the plot, will appeal appealingly!Many thanks to Dibakar Banerjee, for making us live the mystery and thrill and of course to the first hand creator – Shardindu Bandopadhyay,  for giving us our very own 'desi' Sherlock Holmes!PS : A common movie fan.
This movies is like a time machine, sit back and relax, Welcome to Calcutta,yes i am right it is Calcutta not kolkata, and here lives our Own Sherlock Holmes called "Detective Byomkesh bakshi".
Dibakar Banerjee's fantastic direction, Sushant's quirky and smart performance, the magical recreation of the Calcutta of 40s with the gripping soundtrack and very impressive supporting star cast makes it a worth watch.Calcutta 1940s, a shrewd harmless looking fellow Ajit Banerjee seeks help of Byomkesh Bakshy, a low key self designed detective, to help him find his missing father.
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy - Dibakar Banerjee has done a thing which may or may not be good for this movie .