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As someone who constantly experiments with his films, director Dibakar Banerjee is hopeful that his latest offering "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!" will create a space for itself in the audience.
Having lived with the project for a while, Dibakar is relieved now that the movie is garnering good reviews and positive word-of-mouth.
"I am going through that stage where I am letting this film live through. You get to know the real value of a film after six months. I don't lie, I don't pretend and 'pretentious cheeze nahi banata'. If that has a value, then 'Byomkesh' will also have a life," Dibakar told PTI.
The filmmaker said his movies mostly generate strong reaction initially be it "Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!" or "Shanghai" but then viewers like something that is "familiar yet unfamiliar".
"It is a family film, something that can be watched with children. A new set of people are going to watch 'Byomkesh' this week and we will get to know their reaction. I have been to theatres to gauge viewers response and I am happy they are enjoying it. I have used the familiar and mixed it with something new."
The movie is an origin story starring Sushant Singh Rajput where Dibakar has taken Saradindu Bandopadhyay's famous literary figure and given it a new spin. He admits it was a risk to reinterpret Byomkesh.
"It was a gamble but it was a calculated one. The taste of Indian movie watching public has to be changed and that can be done only by giving them something new. I have been trying to do that since my first film 'Khosla Ka Ghosla'. In Kolkata, only 10 per cent had extreme reaction, 90 per cent people enjoyed it," he said.
The director, who owns the rights to Saradindu's 30 odd stories, has left the space for a sequel but said a lot depended on the destiny of "Byomkesh".
"We are definitely thinking about it but we will have to figure out how and when. After the film completes its run, we will get to know the kind of audience it had. We will announce then but not now. This was the first, out-of-box adventure. We need to understand the full amplification of it."
"'Fast and Furious 7' gave us tough competition which only goes to show how slowly Indian films are losing their ground in India and if we don't wake up and try all out to give them good content, they will move towards a new kind of cinema. We will become like Europe."
The director believes the lure of a big budget franchise is always strong but a loyal audience can help one withstand that.
"There is always love for big, bad movie full of thrills and chills but if you build up your own brand and sustain a relationship with a loyal audience, then you can withstand it.
I am a living example of that... There is no reason why I should survive in Bollywood.
"I am surviving because I have build an audience. Today a Byomkesh can be made because of 'Khosla...', 'Love Sex Aur Dhokha', 'Shanghai', 'Dev D', 'Gangs of Wasseypur', 'Peepli Live' and 'Kahaani'. These films are getting an audience and that's what needs to be done."
Dibakar said despite its period setting and the amount of research that went into creating the Calcutta of 1940s, it was made on much less budget than a typical Bollywood film.
"It was less expensive than a typical Hindi movie. We are hoping to break even by second week. We did not put out a lot of posters and most of the marketing was done digitally. It is one of the best reviewed films on IMDB and audience reviews are leading over critics."
@DibakarBanerjee and @itsSSR at the Indian Express Mumbai office for an #ideaexchange @IndianExpress
Fresh from their release of #DetectiveByomkeshBakshy actor @itsSSR and @DibakarBanerjee will drop in at the @IndianExpress office in a bit.
8 retweets11 favoritesI read Byomkesh as a child and found him modern, pulpy and kickass:says @DibakarBanerjee . It stayed with me for thirty years @IndianExpress
I wanted someone who could under act and be subtle. @itsSSR was the perfect Byomkesh says @DibakarBanerjee at @IndianExpress
It didn't matter that @itsSSR did not look Bengali. All that mattered was the actor could perform well in Hindi @IndianExpress
People are saying Byomkesh is not Bengali enough.Of course he's not.He's a Hindi hero. It was intentional: @DibakarBanerjee @IndianExpress
9 retweets9 favoritesWe're definitely making this a franchise. We're trying to figure out how to make Byomkesh 2 hit the audience by surprise, @DibakarBanerjee
Dibakar Banerjee on Recreating 1940s Calcutta for Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! - NDTV http://ift.tt/1GPNUiA #Calcutta
Originally posted by: SushitaLover23Amruta @amrutalakheWe're definitely making this a franchise. We're trying to figure out how to make Byomkesh 2 hit the audience by surprise, @DibakarBanerjee
Originally posted by: TazinSushantFanAmul.coop
@Amul_coop
Amul Topical : Byomkesh in Bollywood! http://t.co/lcCU6gewLc
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..@itsSSR is one of the finest actors we have today across all generations.If you can take risks n break the mould successfully..u r Good!!
33 retweets67 favoritesSelfie time with @itsSSR after an interview...loved his performance in #DetectiveByomkeshBakshy !!! #TalkingFilms
Dibakar on his detective- I made the kind of film which rivets me " Dibakar Banerjee defends his Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!. Spoiler alert if you haven't watched the film | ||
He first discovered Byomkesh Bakshi in his pre-teens. He's been eating, drinking and breathing Byomkesh for the last few years. Last Friday, Dibakar Banerjee's Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!, starring Sushant Singh Rajput as the young sleuth solving his first case in Calcutta 1943, opened to middling-to-positive reviews and above-average box office. t2 caught up with the man who has dared a contemporary take on Sharadindu Bandopadhyay's super sleuth. Sushant Singh Rajput in Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! Are you taken aback by some not-so-glowing reviews that Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! has got, considering most of your previous work has been unanimously critically acclaimed? Have you got any feedback from the purists?
But why did you adapt Byomkesh and write a fresh story? The Chinese engaging in opium trade, Calcutta in the middle of political upheaval, the imminent danger of Japanese bombing, and your protagonist as an almost superhero-like character... don't you think you saddled Byomkesh with too much in his first case as well as the Hindi audience meeting him for the first time? Don't you think the film could have been a little shorter and more crisp, especially in the first half? Looking back, is there anything you would have liked to do a little differently or a little better? What's the industry reaction been like from your peers and seniors? Making films so different from anything you have done so far and alienating an audience... is that intentional or are you just making the films you want to make? How soon will we see the next Byomkesh film? |
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