Detective Byomkesh Bakshi - "Dibakar Strikes Again With A Well-Taut Thriller "

[AfsalTouchriver]

Detective Byomkesh Bakshi
Theatre::PVR Cinemas,Lulu Mall,Ernakulam
Date::04/04/15
Show::10:20 AM
Status::45%

~Review~
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"Dibakar Strikes Again With A Well-Taut Thriller Suffused With Elements Of Film Noir"

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 Japaneese 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 slowpace 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 boxoffice 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 utilised 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 mannersims 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.

Performances
______________
Sushant Singh Rajput was really good in the titular role.
Anand Tiwari was good as Ajit Bandyopadhyay.
Neeraj Kabi was impressive.
Swastika Mukherjee,Divya Menon etc were adequate.

Some +Ves ::
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*Art Direction.
*Direction.
*Performances.
*Music And Score.
*Cinematography.

Some -Ves::
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*Slow Pace.
*Small Flaws In The Second Half.

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. Go for it and you will not be disappointed.
Ma Rating::7.5/10
_Afsal

[asish]

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[Budhijeevi]

Thanx

[ClubAns]

Thanks AfsalTouchriver .

[Saathan]

thanks afsal