After Ray penned Joy Baba Felunath and quickly crafted a movie based on the novel, the sacred city of Varanasi turned to a city of mystery for the Bengali readers and the addicts of Bengali films.
So much so that Arindam Sil relocated his adaptation of Bahnni-Patanga to Benaras in Har Har Byomkesh, a marked difference from the original as penned by Saradindu Banyopadhyay. Thus we had both Feluda and Byomkesh solving a case apiece in movies at least here, reaffirming the status of the place as a city where mystery brews.
Following the tradition, Joydip Mukherjee takes Ekenbabu through the city this time to solve mysteries. With a tribute to Ray and his creations and with apparently a subtle Byomkesh touch, the case surrounds a plot that endangers the city.
Based on the story of Sujan Dasgupta and scripted by Padmanava Dasgupta, the thrill starts early with a blast that rings alarm among the police while grips the heart of the audience with suspense. As the blast is traced back to Belal Mallick, the infamous crook, the authorities anticipate further strikes. As his presence is felt in the city, the police and the agents of the Special Task Force start to sieve through each avenue to apprehend Belal, feared for being an explosive expert and famed equally for being a skilled specialist of disguise.
As the moments gradually turn tense, Ekenbabu and Bapi accompany Pramatha to Benaras on a sudden invitation of Pramatha's friend, Subimal. Subimal eagerly invites the trio to their mansion that he shares with his uncle, Bireshwar but their visit seemed not too cordially accepted by Bireshwar's very young wife, Damini.
A collector of rich antiques, Bireshwar perceives that he is being robbed of his prized possessions and wishes Ekenbabu to look into the matter. But his frequent loss of memory, resulted apparently due to the aggressive treatment of his cancer and a sense of secrecy that he maintains, prevented him to elaborate on his ideas.
Smelling a scent of something fishy and hot on the trail of smuggled artefacts, Ekenbabu curiously gets embroiled in the search for Belal and gets to peek in the case of the bomb blast as well.
The movie blends adventure with mystery and starts at a happy pace but climaxes a bit too abruptly with several ends, let quite loose and very vaguely explained! Joydip Mukherjee directed the movie for the young adult and the age beyond but a little more detailing and critical thinking would be advisable for future projects in the franchise, which will be hopefully continuing! But the best part of the picture is the superbly synchronized acting of the trio Anirban Chakrabarti (Ekenbabu), Suhotro Mukhopadhyay (Bapi) and Somak Ghosh (Pramatha), who keeps the thrill intense while providing ample refreshing snippets with their perfectly tuned timings during comic sequences. Saswata Chatterjee (Belal Mallik) is a surprise disappointment along with Biswanath Basu, both of whom perform well below than what we expect of them! Gaurav Chakraborty (Subimal), with his natural gracefulness, fits in well in a character, which essentially demands just that. However, Sagnik Chatterjee plays another fine support though with a bit sterner look than required, at places, but would like to welcome his appearance that eagerly commits to the character that he portrays. The other person who is equally committed to her role is Ishaa Saha (Damini) with her accent convincing of the lineage meant for her character, a feature that Sagnik slightly lacked and she played a correct support to the suspense that the narrative with so many angles quietly needed.
Thus, in a nutshell, the movie is a pleasant watch for the summer holidays but surely had the potential to perform far better!
