Hatyapuri review: Indraneil Sengupta brings Feluda back on screen with distinction

3/5

Story: Feluda (Indraneil Sengupta), Topshe (Ayush), and Jatayu (Abhijeet Guha) travel to Puri, where the sleuth gets involved in a mystery of a lost ancient manuscript from an old resident. 

Review: First thing first, Indraneil Sengupta fitted perfectly well in the character of Feluda. For the Bengali audiences, it is, no doubt, one of the most important bits of the making of a Feluda film. Every character is closely scrutinised. Their appearance, diction, height, and everything else are compared with Satyajit Ray’s creation. Speculations were high on social media over Indraneil’s casting and the actor came out with flying characters. 

Not just Indraneil, Abhijeet as Jatayu also brings a whiff of fresh air. Neither of them looks like a copy of what we have seen so far. The two very experienced actors bring their own style and yet they follow the flavour of the original creation. Ayush Das also looks seamless as Topshe. It is not just them. Paran Bandyopadhyay, Shaheb Chattopadhyay, Subhashish Mukherjee, Bharat Kaul, and others make it an engaging watch.  

Sandip Ray’s new Feluda in Hatyapuri is modern – like his other films. Feluda can drive and Jatayu’s famous ambassador is replaced by a modern hatchback. Though the color remained the same. The film retains the favour of the original story. Those who are aware will know that this is a story of greed. An ancient manuscript is stolen from an elderly collector. Feluda finds a dead body too. 

Unlike Sandip’s other Feluda, Hatyapuri doesn’t resort to too much action and thrill. Instead, Feluda’s ‘magajastra’ helps him solve the case. The film follows the basic sketch of the Feluda series. Hatyapuri has a lovely set design. The mysterious building right at the sea beach is haunting.   

One of the problems of the film is while Sandip modernises his Feluda, there is no value addition to the script. Here is why it is important. In a period piece, Feluda behaves and acts exactly like the way the character is penned. Everything complements each other. Whenever there is a contemporary twist, the story needs a little reflection of modernity too.

Verdict: The flavour of Feluda has been synonymous with Christmas in Kolkata. There was a break and now that it is back, the young Feluda fans are flocking to the theatres. Hatyapuri will not disappoint them. The new Feluda is smart and dashing and his fans will love him.