On a wintry evening at his 1/1 Bishop Lefroy Road residence, filmmaker Sandip Ray went down memory lane, sharing stories of his early Feluda TV films and the making of his December 23 release Hatyapuri with a new Feluda-Topshe-Jatayu cast. Excerpts from the chat.

Do you remember shooting your first Feluda telefilm — Baksho Rahasya from Feluda 30?

Sandip Ray: There are so many fond memories of the film. It was a wonderful experience working with Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Saswata Chatterjee and Rabi Ghosh. I remember we were trying extremely hard to find a producer but unfortunately nobody came forward. That is why we had to make a telefilm. We were in trouble since it was not the era of telefilms and television did not accept it.

So, we arranged a digital projection of Baksho Rahasya at Nandan. We were the pioneers of digital projection and did it for the first time in the year 1995. We did the digital projection and released it as a feature film. It was houseful continuously for four weeks. We received terrific feedback from the audience. But still, we did not get any producer. Later, there was a producer who said he wanted to do a series. He asked us to do more than one story. After that it became Feluda 30. We divided Baksho Rahashya into five parts.

We shot the film in Shimla. We came back to Kolkata and again went to Gangtok to shoot the rest. People actually thought that it was shot in real locations, but actually no. We even shot it in our house. That was a hilarious experience. And, of course, it was a wonderful experience working with three very great actors. I miss the trio very much. Why do they even grow up! Those were the happiest times of my life. It was an exciting time.

Kissa Kathmandu Mein is the only Feluda series in Hindi. What are some of the memories from the shoot?

Sandip Ray: It was much before Feluda 30. It was in 1986. Satyajit Ray presented a Hindi TV film series in two parts around 1985. We did it with various short stories by my father, Sunil Ganguly, Parashuram and Narendranath Mitra. One of the stories was by Leo Tolstoy. It became very successful. Baba was still alive. We immediately got the offer to make the second part of it. Baba said, ‘Let's take three stories and split it into 13 parts and let one of the stories be Joto Kando Kathmandute.’ It was his idea. Doing a Feluda in Hindi never came to my mind. We did Bonku Babur Bondhu; Mayurkanthi Jelly, which is psychological horror; and Joto Kando Kathmandu.

For Kissa Kathmandu Mein, Baba thought of casting Amitabh Bachchan. He even wrote a letter to him. Amitabh was at the peak of his career. He replied to us saying that he’s sorry because it would be impossible for him to take out a big chunk of time. Later, Shashi Kapoor became very interested in the film. When Baba approached him, he said, ‘I’ve stopped acting and I’m now into the production line.’ But after he read the script, he became extremely excited. He knew that the film had a cause. Feluda exposes a fake medicine racket operating from Nepal.

Finally, Shashi Kapoor came to shoot the film. It was a great learning experience. He is a professional artiste but he’s warm and affectionate at the same time. I was panic-stricken; I thought he would not listen to me. But he did listen to everything I said. He was a technical actor. I had a lot of things to take away from him as well as the film. We worked with Ashok Kumar, Smita Patel, Neena Gupta and Pankaj Kapoor. It was a gala time. Shashiji’s training is absolutely different. He is an extremely kind man. He is an exceptionally fine actor. During the making of the TV series I felt, ‘Is it even a Feluda in the making?’ But now when I revisit it, I feel why not? We had so much fun doing it. It has been nearly 40 years!

Why did you choose Hatyapuri from among all the Feluda stories?

Sandip Ray: Puri is the Ray family’s favourite destination. We used to visit the place often. It was my father’s (Satyajit Ray) favourite place. We stayed at the BNR hotel. He loved going to the seashore to click pictures. It was near Nuliya Basti where he discovered the house of Hatyapuri. He started writing the story after that.

After the pandemic, when the situation got normal, we realised that it had been six years since we made a Feluda film. I thought, why haven’t we done Hatyapuri yet? We can travel to Puri via flight, train, car, bus. Going far would escalate the budget of the film. The situation is much better now; people are going to the theatres to watch films. We felt this was the right time to do Hatyapuri. After that we started deciding upon the cast for the film.

What about Indraneil Sengupta made you feel like he would be a good Feluda?

Sandip Ray: Indraneil had come to me long back with the request to play Feluda. If an actor wants to play a character willingly, then he is ready to give his hundred per cent. Nobody is forcing the actor to do the role.

When Indraneil approached me, he was very premature. At that time, we were planning to do Double Feluda. Sabyasachi Chakrabarty played Feluda. Indraneil was also playing another detective, Kiriti Roy. When we were planning to do Hatyapuri, he came to us again. He said, ‘I’m not doing Kiriti Roy anymore. So, please think about me because I have no other work.’ (Laughs) I realised that he has matured from when he had come to me in 2015. Not only that, his physical presence had a pleasant vibe, along with the fact that he is a fine actor. He can also be ruthless if required. I felt that he is appropriate to play Feluda.

How did you find Ayush Das? What about him helped you make up your mind about casting him as Topshe?

Sandip Ray: Ayush had worked with us in our film, Jekhane Bhooter Bhoy. He had played a small role. Since I don’t use a mobile phone, Ayush used to send his pictures very often to my wife’s cell phone. He wrote, ‘I have grown up. Can I be Topshe now?’ We received his picture every two years until I liked his last picture, quite honestly. I called for him to meet him in person.

Tell us about the casting of Lalmohan Ganguly. How did you zero in on Abhijit Guha?

Sandip Ray: It was my wife (Lalita) who first mentioned that I must see Rana (Abhijit). I had seen films directed by him but I had not seen films in which he had acted. I like the films directed by him. Later, when I spoke to him, he gave a very positive vibe. Since he is also an actor, I felt why not try him out as Lalmohan Ganguly?

With Indraneil, Ayush and Abhijit Guha, this is a brand-new Feluda-Topshe-Jatayu combination from you. How was the experience of creating the dynamic you wanted with them?

Sandip Ray: My main motive was to make sure that their chemistry is compact. This was very tough. It would have not looked real if they had just acted it out. I had asked them to spend some time together. More importantly, I asked them to not watch the previous Feluda films. I did not want any influence to come in their character. I am very happy that nobody tried to copy other actors.

I don’t believe in doing workshops. I believe in spontaneity. To help them prepare, my script is enough. It has everything mentioned in it. To get into the character, I had asked them to read almost all the stories, through which they got to know the mannerisms and characteristics of their respective characters. I had asked them to read the script thoroughly because it is a complex story. There is a lot of information in the film. Hatyapuri is in whodunnit format. They had to be very cautious.

Today the same actor plays both Feluda and Byomkesh, and even at times Topshe and Feluda. Even Indraneil had played Kiriti Roy before being cast as Feluda. Do you think it dilutes the appeal of an actor as a certain character for the viewer?

Sandip Ray: I don’t think that it affects much. If you stop doing the previous character, I feel it doesn’t dilute the appeal of an actor. Different actors have played the same role. If the same person keeps on playing two characters at the same time, there are chances of an identity crisis. So many actors have played Sherlock Holmes. Has the character become diluted? No, I don’t think so.

Is this Feluda true to the book, or changed in any way in step with the times?

Sandip Ray: We always bring Feluda and put him in recent times. We never place Feluda in the time it was written. It becomes very difficult in terms of budget. We placed the story pre-pandemic, around 2019. Feluda has a mobile phone. There are a few modern elements that we have added. Since there are mobile phones already, we had to shift the storyline a little.

Also, since literature and films are two different mediums, we had to make a few basic changes. Let the changes be a surprise. If we would have done more changes, then Feluda fanatics would get very angry. That will be a problem.

Which is your favourite Feluda story?

Sandip Ray: Royal Bengal Rahashya is one of my favourite Feluda stories. The first time I read Feluda was when I was around 12-13 years old. I read the very first story, Feludar Goyendagiri. I used to identify with Topshe. I don’t think anybody knows Feluda better than I know him. I’ve grown up with him. Putting it in a cliche way, Feluda is in my blood.

You made your first Professor Shonku film — Professor Shonku O El Dorado. Can we hope for a Satyajit Ray universe, where Professor Shonku, Feluda and Tarini Khuro will meet for an adventure?

Sandip Ray: Not really because I feel it is a little difficult since three of the characters are of different genres. Three of them together will definitely be fun, but it is extremely difficult to write a story like that. To make it look real is a little challenging. To be quite honest, I feel the stories of Tarini Khuro are outstanding, but unfortunately a lot of stories are set outside Bengal. Languages other than Bengali will be involved.

On my father’s 100th birth anniversary, we decided to do a double story — one Shonku and one Feluda. Shonku before interval and Feluda after interval. Unfortunately, the film got shelved. But it will definitely happen sometime soon. My next project will be something which is non-Feluda.