Tintoretor Jishu

To me this is the best directed Feluda movie by Sandip Ray. The ingenious plot of the father is efficiently picturised by the son and perhaps this is the later's best tribute to the legend called Feluda till date.

The story starts with the arrival of a stranger in Baikunthapur’s Neogi family, introducing himself as Rudrashekhar, son of late Chandrasekhar who is brother to Soumyasekhar, the current head of Neogi family. Chandra was an artist who died in foreign lands after being married to an Italian lady. It was there that he received a painting of Jesus Christ by a famous Renaissance painter, Tintoretto. Rudra is wholeheartedly welcomed by Soumyasekhar but along came the news of death of Thumri, Soumya’s pet golden retriever. Then, following a chance meeting with Soumya’s son, Naba, the three musketeers, Feluda, Topshe and Jatayu, gets invited to Baikunthapur to have a look at the famous painting and also to offer some clues to the dog’s killers. Though the case was proposed in a light-hearted manner, but Feluda smells rat and starts some investigation on his own. His hunch of something fishy proves correct following a failed attempt to steal the picture. Feluda learns an international buyer called Krikorian got information of the painting from an article by Bhagwangarh’s Bhudev Singh, a friend to Chandra and tries to buy it through a villainous art dealer Hiralal Somani. The story gathers a sudden momentum as Bankim, manager to Soumya gets murdered and Rudra gets missing while the painting gets replaced by a fake one. Now the chase begins with Feluda and his companions trying to foil the art deal between Krikorian and Hiralal at Hong Kong and the stage is set for the final showdown that keeps the audience glued to their seats.

The story has been followed with some modifications that have never felt damaging to the original plot and the wonderful fusion of oriental tunes with the traditional Feluda tune really deserves applause as do the use of witty dialogues that adds humorous flavour of the movie. As to the suspense account, it must be admitted that foretelling a part of the criminal's approach damps the thrill a bit but the use of action and chase sequences compensate them to a great extent. While the fictional portrait of Jesus by Sagar Bhowmick provides the much needed realistic touch to the historical part but Feluda's explanation while unravelling minute but important points could well have been enhanced by using flashbacks as those who have not read the book will be kept searching for the missed portions especially while revealing the true identity of an important character. But the thing that I disliked most was the transformation of the period to the 21^st century as I feel that the story had all the materials for a grand success without cell phones, lappys and modern vehicles (Lalmohan’s ambassador converted to indica was not required as such). Just imagine Holmes dressed in modern outfit or Poirot losing his fussiness over symmetry or Marple without her stitching set or Father Brown without the meek appearance or watching Byomkesh searching for clues wearing jeans! It is not that the period transformation produces giggles among the audience but it was an adjustment quite uncalled for.

As to the acting, Paran bandopadhyay tops the list with his subtle comedies while Bibhu Bhattacharya as Lalmohan is a dissapointment this time. While Shilajit excels with his stubborn looks and Sabsyasachi maintains the balance of sharp intellect and skilled karateka, Tota Roychowdhury offers a pleasant dimension to this intriguing plot. Biswajit Chakraborty plays the wicked Hiralal Somani to perfection while Parambrata and Bhaskar plays their supporting roles nicely. Just as an afterthought, Tota can be the next replacement of Feluda in some future screenplays!
As to the detailing I think two glaring errors are very much apparent. Firstly while Feluda, Topshe and Jatayu were seen sleeping at the Neogi’s, they didn’t even change their dresses! Secondly while following a footstep in the house at night, Feluda is wearing shoes, that is so unlike a proper detective.