Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! Movie Review: The Great Indian Sleuth Story

Being a fan of the Byomkesh Bakshi series on television starring Rajit Kapoor, this reviewer was quite unsure about how the good-looking Sushant Singh Rajput would play the Indian version of Sherlock Holmes, but we must say that Dibakar Banerjee doesn’t disappoint you on that count.

Set in war-torn Calcutta of 1940s, the film revolves around the adventures of Byomkesh Bakshy, a college graduate and an amateur detective, who is approached by a young man Ajit (Anand Tiwari) to seek help in tracing his missing father Bhuvan. 

An initially reluctant Bakshy agrees to take on the case, but it soon becomes clear that the plucky lad might have bitten off more than he can chew. Soon, Bakshy finds himself neck-deep in Chinese gangsters, secret operatives of the Japanese Army, a femme fatale, drug dealers and Indian nationalists, a regular UNO of suspects. 

Will Bakshy uncover the mystery and earn his tag ‘Satyanweshi’ (seeker of truth)? Watch the film to find out…

Sushant Singh Rajput pulls off the role with aplomb and becomes the character rather than a hero, who must be invincible because of his status in the film. Sushant’s Bakshy is more of Tintin than Sherlock and the actor is careful to not let the sleuth become larger-than-life. With his slicked hair, a cigarette dangling from his lips and an endearing smile, Sushant simply wins your heart with his performance. Anand Tiwari, who has been mostly seen playing comic characters, makes you sit up and take notice of his character, an Indian Watson, who might seem geeky with his glasses and diminutive stature, but who is quick with his fists when the situation calls for it even as Byomkesh timidly implores him to not engage in fisticuffs. Swastika Mukherjee, who plays the enigmatic Angoori Devi, plays her part well and other actors like Meiyang Chang, Neeraj Kabi, Divya Menon and others, too do justice to their roles. 

Now, before we go on to the review, let it be disclosed that the reviewer is partial to noir mysteries set against the backdrop of a world without cell-phones, finger-prints and DNA tests and so, it is not tough to love the film. Another admirable part about the film is the way Bakshy’s character has been shaped up and his transformation from a clumsy but enthusiastic lad, who is still unsure of himself at times to the confident detective that he eventually turns into, is subtle, believable and bang-on. Dibakar’s Bakshy is not a super-slick sleuth like Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, but a common man, who is just a tad brighter than others around him and we thank Banerjee for making the character so real and believable.

Another thing worth mentioning about the film is the way Kolkata (or Calcutta, as it was known then) has been shot. Charming and yet sinister by turns, the city itself becomes a character in the film with its coffee-houses, narrow alleys and dark, mean streets, where dope and death can be dealt out in the blink of an eye.

On the flip side, DBB is not what one might call an ‘edge of the seat’ thriller and so, won’t be having you biting your nails off in the excitement of uncovering the mystery. Dibakar takes his own sweet time unraveling the enigma, but if you want to soak in the experience of an old-school noir, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! is definitely your cup of tea.