Director Speak: Q and Soumik Sen on Feluda

Q

“All of us have grown up with Feluda stories. They were targeted towards the middle-class Bengali and I was prime target audience. It was our version of the Tagore phenomenon. I was besotted by the stories. I like Ray far better as a writer and designer rather than a filmmaker. He worked with Bengali fonts and illustrations. Ray affected our consciousness and came very close to the graphic novels genre. The dialogues were such that we could repeat them with our friends. Pulp was redefined by something like this. I can’t make comparisons between Feluda and Byomkesh Bakshi. I personally couldn’t really relate to Byomkesh. I liked the Feluda films because we didn’t have anything else back then and he captured the reality of our times. I don’t like them at all now. I also hope there’s no influence of the books on me. I would be really disappointed in myself if there was.”

 

Soumik Sen

“I read Feluda stories as a staple, just like every other Bengali does while growing up. I don’t know if there is a Hindi equivalent where an author has captured the imagination of generations and continues to do so even today. Ray’s possibly the most successful author ever. Feluda stories were totally teenage-friendly, there’s no romance or sexual aspect in the stories. They were adventure novellas, which parents would buy for children. Byomkesh Bakshi’s stories came much earlier and they catered to a different kind of audience: more mature. My favorite Feluda stories were Badshahi Angti, Chhinomostar Abhishap, Sonar Kella [though the film was better], Nayan Rahasya and Royal Bengal Rahasya. I have been influenced by his work, at a subconscious level. His lines would be punchy, graphical and I somewhere try to emulate that. Most importantly, his portrayal of villains was spectacular. Just like Holmes has a Moriarty, Feluda has a Maganlal Meghraj. We learnt from Ray how to create the archetypal character of a villain.”

As told to Vasundhara Rathi (an intern with The Hindu)