With Tungkulung-E Eken streaming on Hoichoi, Anirban Chakrabarti looks back at how he has crafted the unique detective character of Eken Babu over the seven seasons of the web series.

Tungkulung-E Eken is the seventh season of the Eken Babu web series. How much did you give to and borrow from Eken?

Anirban Chakrabarti: I actually do both. This is the ninth (including two films) time I have played Eken. I have been reinventing my portrayal every time, otherwise it would get very boring. If I don’t enjoy performing it, I’m sure it will become mechanical and reflect on screen. Then the audience will find it boring. That is why I try out new things with the character. Every time there’s a new situation in the story, I rediscover the character. Initially when I started playing Eken, it leaned heavily on Jatayu. I moved away from it slowly and established a different character.

Through the nine seasons of Eken, we have never seen him gloomy or sad. We have always seen him jolly and funny. Eken too goes through difficult times and feels low but he always overcomes those and stays happy. This is how he looks at life. This is a very important lesson that I learnt from Eken and something that I borrow from him.

What do you think is the reason behind Eken Babu’s popularity?

Anirban Chakrabarti: Eken is a very unique character. We haven’t seen a detective character who is sharp and also very funny. The other detectives we have seen so far are very heroic. They are larger than life, more serious. They are not imperfect. Eken looks like a simple person, doesn’t look like a detective at all; he’s someone who irritates others, is funny but at the same time very intelligent. We haven’t got a unique combination like this. Secondly, Eken is full of Bangaliana. A lot of probashi Bangalis have said that to me.

Thirdly, the character has an element of innocence about him. Eken is a very simple person and deals with life very easily.

Also, nowadays very little content is made for family audiences. I have met many where three generations in the family are Eken Babu fans.

Tungkulung-E Eken was shot in North Bengal. How did that go?

Anirban Chakrabarti: We have shot in several places like Dooars, Lava and Lolegaon. It was fun to shoot there. We shot the series in the monsoons in early September. Our shoot would often get cancelled because of the rains. We had to return to Kolkata leaving the shoot incomplete and then went back again to finish it.

People who have played notable characters tend to get typecast. Did that fear ever play on your mind?

Anirban Chakrabarti: No, not really. Initially when I started playing Eken, I was approached for quite a few roles similar to Eken. I didn’t do any of those. Not that my hands were full, but I resisted it. But when the directors and producers started having faith in me as an actor, I started getting offers for characters that were different from Eken Babu. I will never play a character like Eken Babu, else I will have nothing much to contribute.

Who has been your favourite detective apart from Eken Babu?

Anirban Chakrabarti: Feluda, Byomkesh Bakshi, Kiriti Ray and Sherlock Holmes. They have different characteristics. But the person who will top my list is Feluda, as I read him first. Feluda is close to me. I wanted to be a Topshe thinking that I would have a brother like Feluda.

What factors do you keep in mind while choosing a role?

Anirban Chakrabarti: The character should have layers which I can discover because every human being has a lot of layers in them. A character with various layers will always be exciting.

What is next for you?

Anirban Chakrabarti: I recently did a series by Abhirup Ghosh called Banglar Sera Bhooter Golpo, which is streaming on the Aro Anando app. Pradhan released this December. I have finished shooting for Chalchitro, by Pratim D. Gupta. There is also a Hindi web film that I am doing.