Exclusive! Anjan Dutt: I gave up on Byomkesh because there was no exclusivity

Anjan Dutt has geared up with his new film, Revolver Rohoshyo. Based on his stories of Danny Detective with detective character Subrata Sharma, played by Suprobhat, will hit the theatres on February 3. This is not the first screen adaptation of Subrata Sharma. Earlier, Anjan made a series based on Subrata and Danny. The upcoming film also features Tnusree Chakraborty, Sujan Mukhopadhyay, Abhijit Guha, Kanchan Mullick, Anjan, and others. In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, Anjan talked about his new identity as a bestseller author, his take on detective writings, and the preparations for his film in Mrinal Sen. Read on…

Your earlier book, Danny Detective INC has three stories. Is this a new story?

Yes. the other book is releasing at this year’s Kolkata book fair and this one is the last story from that book.

So the book will be released before the film. Given the fact that it is a whodunit, will the book not be a spoiler?

That is a challenge I took. I usually make films from my script. The Danny series is no different. Initially, I thought of adapting Shillong Club e Ekta Raat from the first book. But that did not materialise because I could not find a proper location. Finally, we zeroed in on Revolver Rohoshyo and that is also because it is the only story that has a hint of rain. And by that time, the monsoon was approaching. It is a whodunit but the watching experience will be different from reading it because of the way I have made the film.

I really liked the idea of writing and making the film. From Byomkesh to Feluda, Kiriti, and Shabor – almost all the detective franchises we have are based on books. When I started with Byomkesh, many younger people started reading the novels.

We have seen you as an actor, director, musician, and theatre worker. And now you emerged also as a bestseller novelist. How are you enjoying the new avatar?

I am enjoying it thoroughly. My forte has always been acting and writing. My songs are also known for their lyrics. The tune of my songs has never been rich and rather simple. I enjoy writing scripts. I wanted to make a franchise with my detective character. Unlike Dhrubo (Banerjee), who focused only on his script of Sonada, I thought of writing novels, creating my own detective character and then making the franchise. And now that I have started writing, I am enjoying every moment of it. I am tempted to write more. It took me a lot of time to get it to write – how to make it funny, pacy, and gripping, et al. Now my writing is also improving.

Also, I wanted to write adult detective stories. I always felt that there is a dearth of adult detective stories in Bangla. I find most detective novels are not really for grown-ups. A detective story should have corruption, killing, death, murder, and so on and unless we bring that into stories, they will fall flat. My stories have these things.

Why Suprobhat?

Suprobhat is a fine actor. He is like Ritwick Chakraborty and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. He is not a chocolate hero. He is perfect to play the character because he does not have the baggage of many films. People will accept him as a Subrata Sharma.

Besides Subrata Sharma, you have also worked in two 'Murder' series on Hoichoi. Those are also your original stories…

I will not continue with the ‘Murder’ series anymore. I have communicated that to Hoichoi. I will only focus on Subrata Sharma. I will write more and make more films. That’s what I intend to do.

When are you starting your film on Mrinal Sen?

I plan to start shooting in March. I also planned to fund the film myself. I ask my son to give me some money. I don’t want a financier and that is simply because, with Mrinalda’s film, I don’t want to have any compromises. It is the story of a young 20-odd-year-old actor meeting a 50-something director. It is very personal for me. It will not be an elaborate film but a small Mrinal Sen film.

I’m sure you know Dev has announced to become the next Byomkesh in Durgo Rohoshyo. The Byomkesh franchise started in Tollywood with you. How does it feel to see so many new people still taking interest in Byomkesh?

I left Byomkesh because too many people were doing it. Arindam (Sil) came and then Byomkesh appeared on OTT and so on. I lost exclusivity and I left. It was only rational and logical for others to make so many Byomkesh because that worked. That’s why I came up with a new and original detective character. It is solely because of my unperturbed love for detective novels and films. I have no qualms. I want Dev to do it nicely. Durgo Rohoshyo demands a high budget and I hope he will bring in more funding to make it a very good film. I want the franchise to do well. It is not a safe reply but an honest reply. I would love to see Byomkesh on a bigger and better scale.

Your film is releasing at a time when Pathaan is running in a full swing. What is your take on the controversy of Hindi films overshadowing regional films in single-screen theatre?

This is not the first time it is happening. It happened before. I remember my film suffered during the release of Gully Boy. My request to the audience is to step out and watch the Bengali films they wanted to watch. Distributors and exhibitors indeed need to make money. If there was a policy to safeguard Bengali films, it would work better.

Will the distribution policy of Pathaan affect your Revolver Rohoshyo?

No, I don’t think so. By the time my film releases, the rage of Pathaan will also go down a little. I don’t need many halls for my film. Only a handful of good shows will do. I hope to get a show at Nandan.