I would like to look back a couple of decades to Rituparno Ghosh’s Shubho Mahurat (2003). As my favourite female sleuth, I would pick Ranga Pishi — apparently just a typical old widow, the unlikeliest person to solve a murder mystery. The plot is loosely based on Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side (1963), so Ranga Pishima is a sort of Bengali Miss Marple, a celluloid character imbued with the gravity of literature. Played with acumen by Raakhee, the character of Ranga Pishima hovers in the shadows of the story, never leaving her home and gathering information only through her niece Mallika (Nandita Das). (Which is your favourite female detective in books/films?... September 18)

Dhee Sankar

My favourite female detective in books/films is Pragyaparamita Mukherjee, popularly known as Mitin Mashi. Conceived through the mighty pen of Suchitra Bhattacharya, she has cracked a lot of mysteries with her niece Tupur, often on family trips to various parts of the country.

Apart from the actual act of detection, the stories of Mitin Mashi (just like those of Feluda) feel more interesting because of the related facts of history and culture of the place upon which the adventure is set. My favourite Mitin Mashi books are Saranday Shoitan, Keralay Kistimat, Kuriye Pawa Pendrive, Sanders Saheber Pnuthi and Hate Matro Tintey Din.

Kajal Chatterjee

Ranga Pishi played by veteran actress Raakhee in Rituparno Ghosh’s Shubho Mahurat (2003) is my pick of a female super sleuth in films. Without even stepping out of her house, the elderly lady solved a highly complicated murder case simply by virtue of her observational skills, conversations with a few involved people and then summing up the stray bits and pieces. Ghosh also gave her a number of memorable dialogues sprinkled with ready wit and humour, and Raakhee delivered a beautiful performance backed by the use of her eyes, sharp glances and condescending voice tone. In the film’s unusual climax, she unmasked the killer in an extremely conversational manner, and with sensitivity and compassion.

Anamitra Bhaduri

My favourite female detective character is Pragyaparamita Mukherjee, of Suchitra Bhattacharya’s Mitin Mashi detective novel series. She is portrayed as the archetypal 21st century, educated, confident woman in her mid 30s; a woman many of her readers may know and identify with. She likes to use her mind rather than her revolver. She is not merely interested in solving a mystery but has a higher calling of searching for the truth. Money is important for her but not more than the happiness of solving complex mysteries.

I really love the way she interrogates and also her expertise in karate. She is very focused in whatever she does, be it cooking, doing research on various subjects for investigation or taking care of physical fitness. Indeed, she’s a role model for readers like us.

Sohini Raychaudhuri

One of the most iconic female detectives in the world of literature and entertainment, Nancy Drew was created by publisher Edward Stratemeyer, and ghostwritten by several authors under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. The teenage amateur sleuth made her debut in The Secret of the Old Clock in 1930, and since then, became the protagonist in a long-running series of mystery novels. For a bibliophilic adolescent like me, our school library was the gateway to Nancy Drew books — my beloved companions during my formative years. The thrilling mystery stories would keep me on the edge of my seat, as I would be teleported to Nancy Drew’s mystery-lands, desperately anticipating her investigations. I still celebrate the brilliant Miss Drew, who holds a special place in my heart for her intelligence, dauntlessness, ingenuity and ardent problem-solving skills. Her character has inspired me to become the curious cat I am, empowering me to question everything from a very young age, and taking a keen interest in solving mysteries.

Camellia Paul

My favourite female detective is a rather unassuming female sleuth, in the person of Ranga Pishi (Rakhee) in Shubho Mahurat. Ranga Pishi, modelled after Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, is a perceptive, homely woman and an ardent follower of the happenings in tinsel town. Despite spending most of her time in the kitchen and looking after her cats, she has wit, intelligence and presence of mind. Her extraordinary investigative powers comes to the fore when she gives her niece, Mallika Sen (Nandita Das), valuable clues regarding a murder mystery. The synergy between the dashing Mallika and the progressive aunt helps in cracking the baffling case.

The movie celebrates women power, as it were, with men serving as means to an end. Ranga pishi is endowed with rare instincts. She is an embodiment of the typical Bengali lovable, aged lady who is shrewd enough to detect any slight disparities in her surroundings. She realises that her niece is involved in a love triangle and makes fun of her. She exhibits gumption when she cleverly pens an anonymous letter for a journal with which Mallika is associated, to provoke the murder suspect and draw her to her house. In the end, Ranga Pishi transcends the narrow confines of her kitchen and establishes herself as a lady with brains who renders us awestruck!

Suparna Ghosh

My favourite female detective from books is Miss Marple, an Agatha Christie creation. In the very first Miss Marple book The Murder at the Vicarage, Miss Marple’s version was not of an especially nice woman but later on Agatha Christie changed her aspect so that we fall in love with her character. She is an inspiration to live life differently and with enthusiasm in old age.

Puhabi Das

My favourite female sleuth is Nancy Drew. She is a fictional teenage character appearing in many books ghostwritten by authors under the pseudonym of Carolyn Keene. Her character first instilled into me the love and thrill of reading detective novels. She has appeared since then in many stories, movies, video games, comics etc. and I love her for her tomboyish free-spirited outlook with a no-nonsense attitude and an intense desire to seek out the truth and help people. Nancy lives with her father Carson Drew, an attorney, and their housekeeper Hannah Gruen, who are often part of her thrilling adventures, along with her friends. She is a role model that shows young people to be smart, resourceful and to help others in dire situations.

Adishree Ghosh

My favourite female detective in books/films is Pippa ‘Pip’ Fitz-Amobi from the A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder series of books by Holly Jackson. A student in her final year of high school, Pip gets drawn into solving the cold case of Andie Bell as her school project and clearing the name of Sal Singh who is believed to have murdered her. Driven by her curiosity and intellect, Pip successfully uncovers behind the mystery shrouding Andie Bell and Sal Singh’s deaths and in the sequel, solves the disappearance of her friend’s brother. Besides taking on the mantle of an amateur detective, Pip is also a high achiever at school. She also shares a wholesome relationship with her family, especially her stepfather, Victor and her younger brother, Josh. Her unabashedly nerdy side, penchant for cracking bad jokes and sharing random facts when nervous, as well as her fiercely caring and loyal nature makes her a truly endearing character to root for.

Rupanjali Samadder

Created by American author Edward Stratemeyer, Nancy Drew is one of my favourite female detectives. Her extraordinary competence to solve even the most twisted mysteries builds up her key characteristic creating an indelible impact on the minds of young readers. Apart from being a gifted detective, she also possesses a heart of gold and treats everyone around her with compassion. Her character is well-sketched, incorporating the typical attributes of a teenager and a master detective, entertaining the readers to its fullest. Reading these novels take me on a nostalgic joyride where I would imagine myself as a detective known for her intellectual ability and helping out people in every possible capacity.

Aayman Anwar Ali

My favourite female detective in books/films is Enola Holmes, the sister of legendary fictional sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his elder brother Mycroft Holmes. Being the brainchild of writer Nancy Springer, the character Enola Holmes doesn’t exist in the original Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But I am very fond of this female detective who is beautifully portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown in the movies Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2. During the Victorian era when teenage girls were supposed to learn knitting, cooking and other domestic lessons, Enola, under the guidance of her beloved mother Eudoria, grew up to be smart, intelligent, well-educated, vivacious, compassionate, well-versed in jujitsu and sports and an expert in word games. In the first movie, when her mother mysteriously disappeared, she ran away from home in disguise to find her mother and to free herself from the shadows of her famous brothers. She met a runaway Lord and saved his life and also managed to reunite briefly with her mother, who was part of a radical group.

Enola Holmes is an embodiment of sheer intellect and freedom. The name Enola itself defines her character as its reverse ‘alone’ means she is capable of achieving everything on her own.

Sikrity Ghosh

Nancy Drew the teenaged American sleuth drew built a safe world for us in our childhood and for that we have to thank Carolyn Keene. A website describes Nancy Drew as an amateur problem solver. But she was the brilliant sunshine in the crime-filled clouded sky of our growing-up years.

Pampa Paul

My favourite female detective in books is Pragyaparamita Mukherjee, who’s popularly known to all Bengali detective story book lovers as Mitin Mashi. This fictional female detective character was created by renowned Bengali author Suchitra Bhattacharya.

Sourish Misra