Arindam Sil on Byomkesh Hatyamancha: It was a challenge for us to recreate the ’70s Kolkata

Arindam Sil’s first Byomkesh film Har Har Byomkesh was released in 2015. Ever since then, he has directed two more films from the franchise. Now the fourth film based on Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay’s Byomkesh Bakshi thriller, Byomkesh Hatyamancha, is all set to release on August 12. 

Based on Sharadindu’s incomplete work Bishupal Badh, Arindam and Padmanabha Dasgupta, who is also a part of the cast, developed and completed the script. The film is set against the backdrop of the Naxalbari Movement in Bengal in the 1970s. “It was a challenge for us to recreate the ’70s Kolkata. Not only the political scene, the arts and culture scene too saw a lot of changes in the 1970s. It was the time when the theatre scene in Kolkata was in its full form. However, the decadence also started since then. Cabaret became the symbol of that decadence. This is the time when mediocrity started creeping in. We have captured this in the film,” he said in an interview with Ei Samay.

Talking about the mystery, he said, “The whole mystery is revealed in one location. Not many Bengali films have exploited this kind of whodunit.” In the film, the murder takes place on stage during an ongoing theatre production. A group of actors in the film is part of the theatre troupe and another group of actors is purely for the film. “This bit was also tricky,” he said. 

Arindam also added that Byomkesh is more mature in the film. “Not just because he aged, but he has also gathered a lot of experiences. He has taken a place. His wife Satyabati is pregnant. Byomkesh’s child is going to take birth amid the social turbulence. I have a feeling that the audience will like the film,” said the director.