Kakababu (alias Raja Roy Chowdhury) is a fictional character created by
Bengali author
Sunil Gangopadhyay
Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly (7 September 1934 – 23 October 2012) was an Indian poet, historian and novelist in the Bengali language based in the city of Kolkata. He is a former Sheriff of Calcutta. Gangopadhyay obtained his ma ...
. The series, falling under the adventure genre of literature, targeted at children and
teenagers, started in the autumn of 1979 with the publication of ''Bhoyonkor Sundor'' in
Anandamela magazine, Puja issue. Since then, the series continued for 33 years on popular demand, with over 36 adventure novels in print until the death of the author in 2012.
Main characters
*Kakababu: Kakababu is the disabled former Director of the
Archaeological Survey of India, whose real name is Raja Roychowdhury. He is from a migrated Bengali family. His family origin was from
East Bengal. In one of the earlier stories, it is said that Kakababu lost one leg in a
jeep
Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...
accident in
Afghanistan, several years ago, and walks with the help of a
crutch. However, in "Kakababur Prothom Abhijan", it is revealed that Kakababu lost his leg when he jumped off a cliff to help his friend Kamal. This accident however has not crippled his strong mental will and physical strength. He is much sought after by the Indian intelligence to solve critical cases of crime. He has worked in CBI for some years as an advisor. He has been trapped and captured by enemies on several occasions, but escaped unhurt, or nominally hurt. In solving cases of crime, he has traveled to several parts of India and the world. Each new adventure takes him to a new destination. He is excellent in fencing, revolver shooting, and swimming. His age is estimated to be over 60 at present. On a few occasions, he used the crutch as a weapon.
*Sontu: (Also spelled as ''Shontu'') Real name is Sunanda Roychowdhury. Who first studies in Tirthapati Institution and after that in Ballygunge Govt. School. The only college-going nephew of Kakababu, and the companion to all Kakababu adventures. This young adult has sharp wit and intelligence, and his mental strength is only comparable to Kakababu. He has also been trapped on several occasions by ruthless enemies. He is an excellent swimmer and an outstanding athlete. He is the best friend of Jojo.
*Jojo: Real name is Rajat Bhattacharya (as mentioned in "Santu o Ek Tukro Chaand") The best friend of Shantu and equals his age and they both studied in
Presidency College. He was very close to Kakababu like Shantu and Jojo also loves him a lot. He was introduced as a character to give comic relief, resulting from his habit of telling lies but not for bad will, but creating imaginary stories about his dramatic life experiences with his astrologer father.
*Biman Banerjee: A
pilot of
Air India, neighbour of Kakababu and Sontu. He got involved in some of Kakababu's adventures like ''Khali Jahajer Rahasya'', ''Kakababu Here Gelen?'' etc.
*Debolina Dutta: A friend of Shantu and Jojo. She has got involved in some of the Kakababu adventures.
*Siddhartha & Snigdha: Relatives of Kakababu and Sontu. They along with Rini got involved in some of Kakababu's adventures.
*Saibal Dutta: Father of Debolina Dutta, a rich and jovial person.
*Rini: Another friend of Shantu. She is a neighbour of Shantu and Kakababu.
*Rupkatha: also known as Oli, is another female friend of Shantu and Jojo.
* Narendra Verma: A veteran I.P.S. of Indian Government and top-ranked
Central Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...
officer, helps Kakababu in many adventures. He is a friend of Kakababu.
Adventures of Kakababu Sontu
# ''Bhoyonkor Sundor'' (1971)
# ''Sobuj Dwiper Raja'' (1976)
# ''Paharchuray Aatonko'' (1979-80)
# ''Bhopal Rohosyo'' (1982)
# ''Jongolgorer Chaabi'' (1982–83)
# ''Khali Jahajer Rohosyo'' (1983)
# ''Mishor Rohosyo'' (1984)
# ''Kolkatar Jongole'' (1985)
# ''Jongoler Modhye Ek Hotel'' (1986)
# ''Nilmurti Rohosyo'' (1986–87)
# ''Rajbarir Rohosyo'' (1987)
# ''Bijoynogorer Hire'' (1988)
# ''Kakababu O Bajralama'' (1989)
# ''Ulka Rohosyo'' (1990)
# ''Mohakaler Likhon'' (1990)
# ''Ekti Lal Lanka'' (1991)
# ''Kakababu Here Gelen?'' (1991)
# ''Sadhubabar Haat'' (1992)
# ''Sontu O Ektukro Chaand'' (1992)
# ''Aagun Pakhir Rohosyo'' (1993)
# ''Kakababu Bonam Chorashikari'' (1994)
# ''Sontu Kothay Kakababu Kothay'' (1995)
# ''Pori'' (1996)
# ''Kakababur Prothom Obhijan'' (1996)
# ''Kakababu Bonam Murtichor'' (1997)
# ''Jojo Odrishyo'' (1997)
# ''Kakababu O Chondon Dosyu'' (1998)
# ''Kakababu O Ek Chhoddobeshi'' (1999)
# ''Kakababu O Shishuchorer Dol'' (2000)
# ''Kakababu O Moronfaad'' (2001)
# ''Jojo-Sontur Golpo, Kakababur Uttor'' (2002)
# ''Kakababu O Black panther'' (2002)
# ''Kakababu O Aaschorjo Dwip'' (2003)
# ''Kakababu O Sinduk Rohosyo'' (2004)
# ''Kakababu O Ekti Sada Ghora'' (2005)
# ''Ebar Kakababur Protisodh'' (2006)
# ''Kakababur Chokhe Jol'' (2007)
# ''Kakababu aar Bagher Golpo'' (2008)
# ''Aagneyogirir Peter Modhye'' (2009)
# ''Aarobdeshe Sontu Kakababu'' (2010)
# ''Kakababu O Jalodassu'' (2011)
# ''Golokdhandhay Kakababu'' (2012)
Film
The first three films in the list are the ''Kakababu Original film series''.
The later are Shree Venkatesh's film series.
Television
Live-action series
*''
Khali Jahajer Rahasya'' (1999), Directed by Surojit Sengupto aired on
DD Bangla as a 13 episodes TV Series. Kakababu was played by
Sabyasachi Chakrabarty. The TV series was a part of the ''Kakababu original film series''.
*''Kakababu Firey Elen'' (2008–2009) was a TV mini-series made for
DD Bangla. Directed by Subrata Das, Sudip Mukherjee as Kakababu,
Debshankar Haldar as Rajkumar and
Saheb Bhattacharya
Saheb Bhattacharya (or Bhattacharjee) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Bengali cinema.
He made his debut with Prabhat Roy's National Film Award winner '' Lathi'' (1996). He has since appeared in films like '' Gorosthane Sabdhan ...
as Santu.
Animated series
In October 2010 an animated series by the name of ''Kakababu-Sontu'' began airing in Ruposhi Bangla.
Telefilm
*''Kakababu o Ek Chadmabeshi''(2001), was TV film made for
ETV Bangla, directed by Joy Mukherjee aired on ETV Bangla. Kakababu was played by
Arjun Chakraborty
Arjun Chakraborty ( bn, অর্জুন চক্রবর্তী) is an Indian actor and director based in Kolkata.
He made his debut as an actor in the 1983 Hindi film ''Zara Si Zindagi'', and his first major role was in the 1986 film ...
and Santu was played by Sumon Banerjee.
* ''Rajbarir Rahashya'', ''Kolkatar Jongoley'', ''Sinduk Rahashya''. The character Kakababu was played by Sumanta Mukhopadhyay aired on Akash Bangla. Deboleena was played by
Mumtaz Sorcar
Mumtaz Sorcar (born 15 September 1986) is an Indian actress and model. She is the daughter of the famous magician PC Sorcar Junior and Joysri Sorcar. Mumtaz started her career with a music video for singer Mehreen from Bangladesh. She first a ...
.
See also
*
Kakababu in other media
*
Feluda
*
Feluda in film
*
Professor Shonku
Professor Trilokeshwar Shonku (Bengali: প্রফেসর শঙ্কু) is a fictional scientist and inventor created by Satyajit Ray in a series of Bengali science fiction books of the same name published from 1965. He is the central pr ...
*
Byomkesh Bakshi
*
Byomkesh Bakshi in other media
Byomkesh Bakshi is an Indian-Bengali detective character created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. Referring himself as "truth-seeker" or Satyanweshi in the stories, Bakshi is known for his proficiency with observation, logical reasoning, and forens ...
*
Private investigator
*
Culture of Bengal
*
Culture of West Bengal
*
Bengali literature
Bengali literature ( bn, বাংলা সাহিত্য, Bangla Sahityô) denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle- Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time ...
*
History of Bengali literature
*
List of Bengali-language authors (chronological)
References
External links
*
{{Kakababu
Bengali-language literature
Characters in children's literature
Fictional detectives
Indian literature
Culture of Kolkata
Series of children's books
Fictional Bengali people
Fictional amateur detectives