On the birthday of eminent director Satyajit Ray, a press conference was organized with the cast and crew of the upcoming web series Shabash Feluda. The Kolkata Mail correspondent Priyanka Dutta caught up with director Arindam Sil on his experiences of directing a Feluda story. Excerpts..

This must have been a challenging directorial venture despite the fact that you are such a pro at directing thrillers and mysteries.

Arindam Sil- Yes, this has been challenging in many ways. From the time we announced this story, we knew there will be people liking it and there will be people disliking it. But my idea has been always to take forward these stories and present them to the next generation. Or else there will be stagnation and the new generation will not be aware of these rich literary marvels.

Kids of today’s time hardly read. Hence it is essential for filmmakers to show these gems of literature visually to them. If one of them finds the story appealing and starts to read a Feluda story, I will have accomplished something as a director.

When I got the call from Samrat Ghosh to direct this series, I was excited and also scared. It was a huge responsibility to bear. We decided to rope in Parambrata as Feluda. Then I told them that I wanted to cast Rwitobroto as Topse.

It is true that no one can match up to Mr. Ray in making films. but what I can say confidently is that we are all trained in the ideologies of Ray and we follow that while we make our films.

How much time did you take to finalize the script?

Arindam Sil- We did not want to compromise on the quality of the script and the dialogues. We worked for two years to finalize the script. I thought if Satyajit Ray wanted to make a Feluda film now, how would he make it? what elements would he add to make the story relevant for the audience?

I will share a trivia with you. Ray wanted to make a Feluda with Amitabh Bachchan. He wanted to make a film on Feluda for the national audience. Ray wanted to make a Feluda that will not only cater to the Bengali audience but also to the national audience. He wanted to make a modern Feluda.

For the series, we have not modernized Feluda. We have just added some elements that will make it relevant for today’s generation. For example, if I show Feluda smoking Charminar now, it will not be acceptable to the audience. That brand does not exist anymore. It is due to this reason that we have made minor changes. But the essence of Feluda is the same. Feluda still depends on Sidhu Jetha and not on Google for information. Hence you see that we have maintained the essence of the character.

How was the working experience of shooting the series?

Arindam Sil- We had a great time shooting the series. The team of ZEE5 and Roadshow films were amazing and cooperated with us on everything. Despite shooting in the cold, we were so comfortable.

Sauraseni plays an investigating officer in the IB team. How did you come up with this character?

Arindam Sil- Times have changed and women are excelling in different professions. With such a huge crime shown in this series, and with the IB team involved, it is natural that an investigating officer can be a woman too.

With this character, I wanted to show that a lead hero and an important female character can be in the same film and not be romantically involved. We need to get rid of such rotten and backdated ideas.

Can you tell us about the music of this series?

Arindam Sil- Bickram Ghosh has composed the music for this series. I wanted the theme music to remind the audience of the old tune but it will be a new one. There are no new notes. Scansion was kept close and the note combination was different. There is a reminiscence of the old tune. This one is based on a minor while Ray’s one was based on a major.

A section of the audience has been trolling about the series. What do you have to say to them?

Arindam Sil- Firstly watch the series and then judge whether it is good or bad. Secondly, without changes made to iconic characters, these characters will stay locked up. To showcase them to the next generation changes are necessary without hampering the essence. Or else, no one would have made Sherlock Holmes in a new way with Benedict Cumberbatch.

Shabash Feluda will premiere on 5^th May and we wish the team all the best!!

Video link of the event- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrbuaQG96BA