The story began when the door bell of 21 Rajani Sen Road was rung on an October morning by a stressed father coming to meet the private detective. He’s asked to wait for three and half minutes as Feluda needs to complete his sarvangasana. That scene, with the camera focussing on the detective’s legs, marks the entry of Feluda in the movies in Sonar Kella (1971). Feluda was played by Soumitra Chatterjee, one of Satyajit Ray’s favourite actors, in the first Feluda film, adapted from his own novel.
Five years later, Ray made his second Feluda film, which was also his last, Joi Baba Felunath, with the same star cast but the landscape had changed from Jaisalmer to Varanasi. In Varanasi, Feluda looked more mature and his assistant Topse, all grown up. Jatayu, the third of the trio, played by Santosh Dutta, however, remained same as he was in 1974.
After Ray passed away in April 1992, the Feluda legacy was taken up by his son Sandip. One of the most difficult tasks for the junior Ray was to choose the actor for a lead role who epitomised the detective, so aptly captured by Soumitra Chatterjee. In 1986-87, Sandip Ray made a television serial, Kissa Kathmandu Ka (KKK) based on yet another bestseller of his father, Joto Kando Kathmandutey, with Shashi Kapoor as Feluda. Jatayu was played by the immensely talented theatre and movie actor, Mohan Agashe. Since the medium was Hindi, the director wanted an actor who was familiar with viewers across the country. Many were disappointed with Sandip Roy’s choice of Feluda in KKK. True to his genes, Shashi Kapoor, who was past his prime as a Hindi film hero, had developed a paunch by then. And as any reader of the Feluda series will know, the detective is extremely fit as he does yoga every morning.
Then in 1986, Ray Junior, made Baksho Rahasya with actor Sabyasachi Chakrabarty as Feluda. The choice did not disappoint diehard fans of the detective. In appearance, Chakrabarty was tall, lanky, intelligent looking and took forward the Feluda legacy. Chakrabarty became a familiar face for Bengali audiences following a hugely popular TV serial, Tero Parbon, telecast on Doordarshan. Sandip went on to make several Feluda movies later with Chakrabarty in the lead role.
Feluda got a tad younger though in 2014 when Abir Chatterjee, a popular Bengali actor played, the detective in Badshahi Angti. Abir Chatterjee though will take some time to get the same level of acceptance Chakrabarty has received from audiences.
However, one gap has just not been successfully filled, the choice of Lalmohan Ganguly or Jatayu, played by Santosh Dutta in the Feluda movies directed by Satyajit Ray. Sandip tried several actors for Jatayu’s role, starting from the extremely popular Rabi Ghose, who excelled in comic roles and was a favourite of Satyajit Ray.
After Ghose died, Anup Kumar played the role in two films from 1996-1997: Bosepukure Khunkharapi and Jato Kando Kathmandutey. But Kumar’s health was deteriorating. In more recent films, Bibhu Bhattacharya essayed the role of Jatayu. While Bhattacharya tried his best, avid fans viewers still long for Santosh Dutta’s way of saying “Eta Amar” (It’s mine).
