Rajatava Dutta, Amrita Chattopadhyay, Suprobhat Das, Chandak Chowdhury, Raja Chatterjee and Manas Mukherjee star in the new KLIKK series Inspector Nalinikanta 2. Directed by Soumik Chatterjee, the story starts on the outskirts of Calcutta where two skeletons are found on a farmhouse. The owner of the farmhouse is Supriya Mukherjee, a business tycoon of the hills, a social worker, and a future member of the legislative assembly of the upcoming election. Nalinikanta is requisitioned to ask some questions to Supriya Mukherjee for his enquiry.
Parama gives him company. Shakya, who was a junior of Nalini at the time of the Gorkhaland movement, is now a sub-inspector of the nearby police station. He comes to receive Nalinikanta.
The day Nalini reaches the hills Supriya Mukherjee is murdered mysteriously in the same evening, with a sharp weapon in his own house. As the narrative progresses, revelations start tumbling out like the proverbial skeletons in the cupboard.
Rajatava Dutta
“Despite the fact that there are several detective series and films, Nalinikanta is being birthed for a second innings. This is possibly attributed to the notion that Nalinikanta is not the proverbial supercop but a rather relatable, affable human, funny in a weird way, a tad aged cop, somewhat frazzled around the edges, not in the pink of health; but with a tough core, which isn’t always evident. But when it does shine through, we see a sharp as a razor, tough lawmaker. We shot in the beautiful locales of North Bengal. In freezing cold and ice-cold rainy situations too, we all gave it our best,” said Rajatava.
“Inspector Nalinikanta is an out-of-the-box franchise, where the problem solver himself is a unique character! It has wit, humour, yet sensitivity, and impeccable acting by our favourite Rajatava Dutta. Our shoot was one of a kind, shot extensively in North Bengal, Gorumara and beyond, Phagu River, and various tea estates amidst picturesque locations! It was a beautiful change shooting there. We had our share of lengthy hours, but the atmosphere was such, we could go on enjoying our work.
Amrita Chatterjee
“There were myriad memorable moments. As I reached my hotel, just before my shoot, I came to know that an elephant had wandered and had damaged a wall. This resort was right in the middle of a forest, and that got me a little scared, but thankfully he didn’t turn up at shoots! We bonded really well with all our team members. It was indeed lovely how everyone went beyond their immediate role to make things work smoothly. This is my first experience working with Rajatava Dutta. It was lovely. The stories of various shoots, and the fact that we had the scope of discussing and modifying and improvising was indeed a delight. There’s always so much to learn from such an amicable senior actor. And our director would be the perfect foodie, simultaneously balancing shot-taking and enquiring about interesting food in locations,” said Amrita.
Director Soumik Chatterjee feels that Nalinikanto’s character curve has a unique distinctive quirkiness. “What makes Inspector Nalinikanta stand out as unique is his vulnerability. Add to that his guy-next-door affability and his sharp caustic witticism. He lives to eat, and more often than not, his presence is peppered with food for thought anecdotes. This time, Nalinikanta is not confined to our city limits, he travels to the colder climes of the Dooars in North Bengal. Climatic conditions were gruelling in the freezing cold in a tough outdoor production schedule. This production mounting was a challenge and I’m grateful to them for helping us mount this range and scale for this franchise,” said Soumik.
Suprobhat Das
Nalinikanta is a government detective in the police department. He is a typical Bengali, who initially appears to be an unassuming simpleton. However, his true identity lies in his sharp incisive detection. Nalinikanta loves to eat, and as the case becomes more complex, his appetite increases with equal fervour. He is often chastised by his wife for this. The quintessential Bengali husband, he is afraid and deeply in love with his wife in equal measure. While his job is to save society from various criminals, his wife tries to save him from eating junk food, although she can’t always succeed. He can’t function without eating junk food in the middle of his work. Nalinikanta is both serious and weirdly humorous.
“In Dooars, we stayed at a resort amidst the jungle and tea gardens, and the shooting took place in amazing mountainous locations. We Bengalis love to travel, it’s in our blood. Such a team becomes like a family after the shooting starts, and there’s a lot of fun in travelling to two or three places together. Along with that, there is the shooting of such an interesting story. Although there is a lot of pressure during shooting, there are many emotions involved. You meet many people, and during the shooting days, everyone mingles as if they’ve known each other for years. I think such sincerity comes only when you travel and shoot,” said Chhandak.
Chhandak Chowdhury
“Soumik Chatterjee has been a part of the growth journey of KLIKK, with his third series now. We wanted to create a rather relatable detective series that audiences across all age groups will love. With Nalinikanta, we have successfully broken the stereotype. Rajatava Dutta is a brilliant actor, and his oeuvre of work ranges from the vicious to the hilarious. Such is the range of versatility of this talented actor. He has impeccably essayed the malicious Idris Ali of Bhagar to this bumbling foodie detective Nalinikanta. Set amidst the chilly outdoor location in the Dooars Hills, with a brand new detective thriller story, we are confident this will gain more adulation amongst audiences,” said Niraj Tantiya, director, KLIKK.
“I feel really happy to be a part of the production family, which creates such a conducive ecosystem for us actors. Audiences who have watched season one will love season two too. Both seasons are completely different from each other and can be binge-watched simultaneously or in distinct viewer experiences. This is not just yet another sleuth saga, but a complex and fantastic story, which explores the byzantine alleys of the human mind and makes one confront the stark realities. I’d like to thank our audiences for their adulation and hope they keep watching our series with renewed vigour,” signed off Rajatava.
