Homestay Murders director Sayantan Ghosal: I want to stay away from making Byomkesh, Feluda

From Byomkesh to Indu and Gora – Sayantan Ghosal has emerged as a dependable director when it comes to detective thrillers on web shows. Now he is back in Hoichoi with his latest, Homestay Murders. With Sohini Sarkar, Gourav Chakrabarty, Sourav Das, Parno Mittra, and others in the lead, the director is set to present a closed-door whodunit. In a chat with OTTplay, Sayantan talked about the series and his love for the genre. 

Elaborating on Homestay Murders, Sayantan said that the series follows a classical whodunit format. “There are many characters. Each character reveals different shades. It starts on a very happy note at a homestay in a hill station. And then there is a murder on a rainy night. There is an IPS officer – played by Sourav Das – who starts to investigate,” he said. 

The trailer of the show was dropped recently. According to many, it reminds us of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. “Yes, Agatha Christie is the pioneer of such plots. There is Mousetrap, And Then There Were None, and a lot more. In a way, our work is a tribute to her,” the director said. 

Sayantan has directed hit whodunits, including Gora, Indu, and Byomkesh. How does he keep one series different from others when each comes from the same genre? “There is a common formula but the making makes them different. There is eccentricity in Gora. In Indu, we dealt with family history, etc,” said the director.

Tuesday was Rabindra Jayanti and on the occasion, the poster of Sayantan’s next film, Rabindra Kabya Rahashya was dropped. Talking about the film, he said, “It goes on in two timelines. One is when Rabindranath Tagore was living in London before getting the Nobel Prize and the other one is the current time. These two get connected through serial killings. It is going to be an intriguing watch,” he said.

Sayantan is known for working with literary detective characters. Earlier, he adapted Hemendra Kumar Roy’s Bimal-Kumar series, Jawker Dhon. He has directed Byomkesh Bashi on the big screen and on web series as well. Is he planning to direct more such characters? “I want to stay away from making Byomkesh and Feluda. Many Byomkesh and Feluda are being made. I definitely want to work with more literary characters in future,” he said.