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Feluda is a
fictional detective Fictional detectives are characters in detective fiction. These individuals have long been a staple of Detective fiction, detective Mystery fiction, mystery crime fiction, particularly in Detective fiction, detective novels and short stories. Muc ...
,
private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...
created by Indian director and writer
Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...
. Feluda resides at 21 Rajani Sen Road, Ballygunge,
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
,
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
, India. Feluda first made his appearance in a Bengali children's magazine called '' Sandesh'' in 1965, under the editorialship of Ray and Subhas Mukhopadhyay. His first adventure was '' Feludar Goendagiri''. Feluda is one of the most impactful Bengali characters of all time. Feluda is often accompanied by his cousin, who is also his assistant, Tapesh Ranjan Mitter (affectionately called Topshe by Feluda), who serves as the
narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...
of the stories. From the sixth story, '' Sonar Kella'' (The Golden Fortress), the duo are joined by a popular thriller writer Jatayu (Lalmohan Ganguli). Feluda has had been filmed at times, with the character been played by
Soumitra Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; ; 19 January 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the histor ...
,
Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty ( is an Indian actor known for his work in theatre, films and television. He is best known for portraying iconic Bengali detective characters, Feluda, and Kakababu. Personal life His parents, Jagadish Chandra Chakrabarty ...
, Ahmed Rubel,
Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and producer known primarily for his work in Hindi films. He is considered as one of the greatest and most successful acto ...
,
Abir Chatterjee Abir Chatterjee (born 18 November 1980) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the son of theatre personalities Phalguni Chatterjee and Rumki Chatterjee. He started his career with Bengali television and made his debut i ...
, Parambrata Chatterjee, Tota Roy Chowdhury and
Indraneil Sengupta Indraniel Sengupta is an Indian actor and model who works in Hindi and Bengali films and television. Early Life Sengupta was born on 8 September 1974 in Assam, India, to a Bengali Hindu family. He completed his education from Scottish Churc ...
. Satyajit Ray directed two Feluda movies — '' Sonar Kella'' (1974) and '' Joi Baba Felunath'' (1978).
Sandip Ray Sandip Ray (born 8 September 1953) is an Indian film director and music director who mainly works in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is the only child of the famous Indian director Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray. Life and education San ...
made a new Feluda film series (continuation of the original series) on Feluda's adventures which started from '' Baksho Rahashya'' (1996). In this series he made ten TV films and six theatrical films in Bengali on the character. Sandip Ray also made a stand-alone Feluda film '' Badshahi Angti'' (2014) which was intended to be the first film of a reboot series featuring
Abir Chatterjee Abir Chatterjee (born 18 November 1980) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the son of theatre personalities Phalguni Chatterjee and Rumki Chatterjee. He started his career with Bengali television and made his debut i ...
, but the projects were ultimately shelved and
Sandip Ray Sandip Ray (born 8 September 1953) is an Indian film director and music director who mainly works in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is the only child of the famous Indian director Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray. Life and education San ...
revived his original film series starring
Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty ( is an Indian actor known for his work in theatre, films and television. He is best known for portraying iconic Bengali detective characters, Feluda, and Kakababu. Personal life His parents, Jagadish Chandra Chakrabarty ...
.


Character development


Inspiration from Sherlock Holmes

Satyajit Ray had deep interests in crime fiction and he read all of
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
fictions in his school days. And when Ray himself started writing on crime fictions, unsurprisingly, the character Sherlock Holmes inspired his writings. Feluda's character resembles Sherlock Holmes and Tapesh/Topshe's character resembles Dr Watson. In the stories of Feluda, he is displayed as a big admirer of Sherlock Holmes which he mentions multiple times. In ''Kailash Choudhury'r Pathar'' he praises the way Holmes used to draw large conclusions from observations. In ''Londone Feluda'', when Feluda goes to
Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder James Baker. The area was originally high class residential, but now is mainly occupied by commercial premises. The street is ...
, he openly addresses Holmes as the "master" (Bengali: ''guru'') of all private detectives.


Personality

Pradosh Chandra Mitter, popularly known by his nickname Feluda, first appeared in the eponymous Bengali short story '' Feludar Goyendagiri'' (''Danger in
Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...
'') in 1965. The story, written by
Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...
, was published in ''Sandesh'', a children's periodical founded by Ray's grandfather, Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury and edited by Ray himself. In the Feluda series that followed, he was portrayed as a man of around 27 (born around 1938) with a tall (almost 6'0"), athletic figure. Despite being a strongly built man adept in
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
, Feluda relies mostly upon his superb analytical ability and observation skill (jokingly referred to as the ''Magajastra'' or brain-weapon) to solve cases instead of using physical strength or weapons. He is very choosy about taking up cases and prefers cases that require cerebral effort. He possesses a .32 Colt revolver, but the weapon is used very infrequently and mostly for non-violent purposes. However, contemporary (2000s) movies based on Feluda stories feature scenes of violence uncharacteristic in the literature, where Feluda demonstrates his martial art prowess. A master of disguises, Feluda is known to be an adept sleight-of-hand, and he puts these skills to use to solve multiple cases. Feluda often calls a meeting after solving the mystery, where he cajoles the culprit into admitting their crime.


Personal life

In his personal life, Feluda is a common Bengali youth who has been brought up by his father's younger brother (Tapesh/Topshe's father) after being orphaned when he was only 9. His father, the late Joykrishna Mitra, used to teach
Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
and
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
at Dhaka Collegiate School. According to the story 'Royal Bengal Rahasya', The ancestral Home of Feluda was in Sona Dighi Village of
Bikrampur Bikrampur (lit. City of Courage) was a historic region and a sub-division of Dhaka within the Bengal Presidency during the period of British India. Located along the banks of the Padma River (a major distributary of the Ganges), it was a sign ...
Region of Dhaka (Now
Munshiganj District Munshiganj District () is a district of Dhaka Division. It is located in central Bangladesh. This region is also historically known as Bikrampur. Geography It is a part of Dhaka Division and borders Dhaka District and Narayanganj District in the ...
). His elder Uncle was a manager of a zamindari Estate in
Mymensingh Mymensingh () is a metropolis, metropolitan city and capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River, Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center ...
and a hunter. After the Partition of 1947, his family moved from Dhaka to Calcutta, living in a rented house in Tara Road. Later, they moved in 21, Rajani Sen Road. Feluda had a job in the bank before his detective career. He finds an avid listener in his cousin Tapesh. He often uses his oratory skill at the climactic scenes to cajole the culprit into confessing his crime. He is an early riser and is frequently shown starting his day with exercises and
yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
. Contrary to his otherwise healthy lifestyle, Feluda enjoys smoking cigarettes and chewing betel leaves after lunch. His favourite brand of cigarettes is
Charminar The Charminar () is a monument located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Constructed in 1591, the landmark is a symbol of Hyderabad and officially incorporated in the emblem of Telangana. The Charminar's long history includes the existence of a m ...
. He is a connoisseur of delicious food, popular music, movies, and books. He has a great appreciation for
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
and, according to the film '' Tintorettor Jishu'',
Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...
. Similar to Sherlock Holmes, he has a voracious reading habit (reflecting that of Ray's own), which add up to his enormous general knowledge. This know-how often comes handy while socialising with people and unravelling mysteries. He always reads up about a place before visiting. He says it comes in handy sometimes. He is shown to be fond of
Tintin Tintin usually refers to: * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), the protagonist and titular character of the series Tintin or Tin Tin may also refer to: Material related to ''The A ...
, and specially his cousin, Topshe, is a fan of
Tintin Tintin usually refers to: * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), the protagonist and titular character of the series Tintin or Tin Tin may also refer to: Material related to ''The A ...
. Some of the Feluda stories and films have many references of
The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' ( ) is a series of 24 comic albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. By 2007, a c ...
. He is also a huge fan of the books by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay,
Jim Corbett Edward James Corbett (25 July 1875 – 19 April 1955) was an Anglo-Indian hunter and author. He gained fame through hunting and killing several man-eating tigers and leopards in Northern India, as detailed in his bestselling 1944 memoir '' M ...
and Kenneth Anderson. His favourite book was " Aranyak" written by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay. He is also shown to be fond of non-fiction books like '' Aku-Aku, Chariots of the Gods?'' and '' The Numerology of Dr. Matrix''. Feluda has love and respect for Lalmohan Ganguly (Jatayu) and his fictional creation Prakhar Rudra is liked by Feluda. He also frequently points out errors and inaccuracies in Jatayu's adventure series, and even helps him write a script for a
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
film. Feluda is protective and caring about his cousin, yet he always keeps picking mistakes or humor of or from Topshe. Topshe, the narrator, greatly admires his brother and loves to be a part of his adventures. Feluda has never shown interest in any woman, and there are very few female characters in the stories or films (except some minor characters like Topshe's mother).


Other characters


Topshe

Feluda's paternal (maternal in the first two stories) cousin Tapesh Ranjan Mitter, who is fondly referred to as ''Topshe'', is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's conception of Dr. John Watson. In the first couple of stories, his surname was ''Bose'', but later it changed to ''Mitra''. Just like the former
army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
surgeon, Topshe is the quintessential accomplice and faithfully records each of Pradosh Mitter's exploits accurately. Topshe is a smart teenager. In the first story of Feluda series (i.e. ''Feludar Goyendagiri''), Topshe was thirteen and a half where Feluda's age was twenty-seven, just the double of Topshe. Though Feluda often teases his young cousin, he is extremely fond and very protective of him. Feluda lives with Topshe's family. Topshe's father, Binay Mitter is the younger brother of Feluda's father, and therefore his uncle, and they all reside at 21, Rajani Sen Road, Kolkata-700029. Although there really is a 'Rajani Sen Road' in
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
, the house number is missing. Formerly, they all used to live in Tara road, Kolkata. Though not mentioned explicitly, Topshe is good-looking, fair, tall and handsome, as per different illustrations made by Satyajit Ray himself. During Sonar Kella, he was 5'5.5" tall (he was two inches taller than Jatayu, who was 5'3.5"). But during Golokdham Rahasya, he become taller and reached the height of 5'7". Detailed knowledge regarding Topshe's high school education is not available, but he used to go to school during the adventure of '' Sonar Kella'' (the sixth book of Feluda series). In the film adaptation of ''Sonar Kella'', Topshe's mother shows her concern regarding his career and study as he spends much time solving cases with Feluda. By the time of ''Kailashe Kelenkari'' (the ninth book of the series) he have had his secondary examination (' Madhyamik Pariksha'). Just like Feluda, Topshe also used to read lot of books to enhance his knowledge. Topshe often gets his lessons from Feluda himself. In many cases, Feluda tests his deductive knowledge and he usually passes the test satisfactorily. In the movie '' Sonar Kella'' Topshe's father aptly said that Topshe is a lucky boy who got Feluda as his mentor. Topshe is fond of ' Adventures of Tintin' comic series. In the book '' Kailashe Kelenkari'', he is found reading '
Tintin in Tibet ''Tintin in Tibet'' () is the twentieth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It was serialised weekly from September 1958 to November 1959 in ''Tintin (magazine), Tintin'' magazine and publis ...
'. Topshe always takes an active part in Feluda's adventure. Though in most cases, he follows Feluda's instructions or indications, there are instances where he himself gets involved into some action/investigation. To mention a few, he and Jatayu (a.k.a. Lalmohan Ganguly) sneaks into a warehouse in ' Patan' (Nepal) to discover vast collection of smuggled narcotics (book ''Jato Kando Kathmandute''); finds out the stabbed
body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anim ...
of a missing man in the woods (book ''Darjeeling Jomjomat''); replaces the pink
pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...
with a fake for safe-keeping (book '' Golapi Mukta Rahasya''). The last incident impressed Feluda as well. However, all these activities mainly comes in the latter part of the series. He also interrogated the suspects in ''Apsara Theaterer Mamla'' when Feluda was sick and bedridden. Feluda solved the case just from the report of that interrogation. In movies and TV films the character of Feluda has been played by
Soumitra Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; ; 19 January 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the histor ...
,
Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and producer known primarily for his work in Hindi films. He is considered as one of the greatest and most successful acto ...
,
Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty ( is an Indian actor known for his work in theatre, films and television. He is best known for portraying iconic Bengali detective characters, Feluda, and Kakababu. Personal life His parents, Jagadish Chandra Chakrabarty ...
and recently
Abir Chatterjee Abir Chatterjee (born 18 November 1980) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the son of theatre personalities Phalguni Chatterjee and Rumki Chatterjee. He started his career with Bengali television and made his debut i ...
, while Topshe has been played by Siddartha Chatterjee, Alankar Joshi,
Saswata Chatterjee Saswata Chatterjee (born 19 December 1970) is an Indian actor known for his work in Bengali cinema and television, with appearances in Hindi films. The son of actor Subhendu Chatterjee, he began his career with a Hindi television series direc ...
, Parambrata Chattopadhyay 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 The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given ...
over the years. In Sandip Ray's 2014 film '' Badshahi Angti'', actor Sourav Das played the role. In Srijit Mukherjee's Webseries, Topshe was played by Kalpan Mitra and Feluda was played by Tota Roy Chowdhury. In Arindam Sil's Webseries, Feluda was played by Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Topshe by Rwitobroto Mukherjee.


Lalmohan Ganguli or Jatayu

Lalmohan Ganguli is a close friend of Pradosh Chandra Mitter, and is described as the author of a series of Bengali crime thrillers written under the pseudonym ' Jatayu'. His crime stories and novels are usually derided as unbelievable, considering that his main character is always the superhero Prakhar Rudra. Though all his novels seem to have become best-sellers, he often tends to make extremely silly mistakes such as spelling
igloo An igloo (Inuit languages: , Inuktitut syllabics (plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow. Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only by the ...
s as 'ilgoos'. In ''Baksho Rahasya'' or ''Incident on the Kalka
Mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...
'', he confuses
hippo The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic Mammal, mammal native to su ...
s with
walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobeni ...
es — a tendency that Feluda often tries to correct. He sometimes serves as a perfect foil to the group and in Ray's own words provides 'dollops of
humour Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...
', although he sometimes does some brave acts not expected of him. To mention a few, he knocked out goons in ''Baksho Rahasya'' (using his
boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...
), ''Joto Kando
Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...
te'' (using a prayer wheel), ''
Tintoretto Jacopo Robusti (late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594), best known as Tintoretto ( ; , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized th ...
r Jishu'' (using a packing box) and ''Ebar Kando
Kedarnath Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Temple. It is approximately 86.5 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquarters. Kedarnath is the most remote ...
e'' (using a stick), which impressed Feluda as well. He owns a 'Madrasi green'
Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
car. Jatayu makes his first appearance in ''Sonar Kella'' joining Feluda and Topshe in the train at
Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...
, on their way to
Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...
. In the first two films on Feluda, which were directed by Ray himself, the character was played by Santosh Dutta, and after the first one, Ray modified the literary character to some extent, making him look and behave quite like Dutta himself. In the next films directed by Ray's son, Sandip Ray, this character was played by
Mohan Agashe Mohan Agashe (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian psychiatrist and actor. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996 in theatre. Early life Agashe was born in Bhor, Maharashtra. He studied in B. J. Medical College, Pune for his MBBS ...
,
Rabi Ghosh Robi Ghosh (; 24 November 1931 – 4 February 1997) was an Indian actor known for his work in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is known for his comic appeal, though his versatile acting talent brought him success in various kinds ...
, Anup Kumar and
Bibhu Bhattacharya Bibhu Bhattacharya (17 September 1944 – 23 September 2011) was an Indian actor who primarily appeared in Bengali TV and films. He was born in Jharia, Bihar, British India (now Jharia, Jharkhand, India). He gained prominence and became a househ ...
respectively. Jatayu also has a fantasy of collecting weapons. In various books he carried weapons like '
kukri The kukri () or khukuri (, ) is a type of knife or short sword with a distinct recurve in its blade that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting/chopping tool throughout ...
' (Nepali
knife A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least Stone Age, 2.5 million years ago, as e ...
), and
smoke bomb A smoke bomb is a firework designed to produce a large amount of smoke upon ignition. History Early Japanese history saw the use of a rudimentary form of the smoke bomb. Explosives were common in Japan during the Mongol invasions of the 13th ...
. Jatayu lives at Garpar in Kolkata, and it may be recalled that Satyajit Ray himself passed his childhood at 100, Garpar.


Sidhu Jetha

Sidhu Jetha's formal name is Siddheshwar Bose. He is an aged character who has described himself to be like
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
's brother Mycroft, living in Sardar Sankar Road, Lake Market,
Kalighat Kalighat is a locality of Kolkata (Calcutta), in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. One of the oldest neighbourhoods in South Kolkata, Kalighat is also densely populated — with a history of cultural intermingling with the various foreig ...
,
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
. He is a
bibliophile A bookworm or bibliophile is an individual who loves and frequently reads or collects books. Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Bibliophiles may have large, specialized book collections. They may highly value old editions, aut ...
, and has an extensive base of general knowledge, current and historical affairs. He is a close friend of Feluda's father, being former neighbours in their ancestral village in
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
. Feluda's jyatha (that is,
uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent, as well as the parent of the cousins. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an un ...
) is said to have a 'photographic memory', and is a vast source of information which comes in handy when Feluda is in need of some. His vast knowledge comes from his collection of varied kinds of newspaper clippings which he has accumulated over the years. The role was played by Harindranath Chattopadhyay in '' Sonar Kella'', Ajit Bandopadhyay in '' Baksho Rahashya'', Dibya Bhattacharya in Golapi Mukto Rahashya, Haradhan Banerjee in '' Kailashe Kelenkari'' and in '' Gorosthaney Sabdhan'' and by Paran Bandyopadhyay in ''
Double Feluda ''Double Feluda'' is a 2016 Bengali language crime thriller detective film, based on the Bengali sleuth ''Feluda'', created by the acclaimed and renowned ''Oscar''-winning director Satyajit Ray. It is the 19th film in the ''Feluda'' series. ...
''. Following recent Feluda films made by Sandip Ray, Satyajit Ray's son, there have been questions over Sidhu Jyatha's continued relevance in the stories considering technologies such as the internet offer a faster, wider and more effective knowledge base than a well-read person.


Haripada Datta

Haripada Datta is the driver of Lalmohon Ganguli's
second-hand Used goods, also known as secondhand goods, are any item of personal property that have been previously owned by someone else and are offered for sale not as new, including metals in any form except coins that are legal tender. Used goods may ...
green Mark II '' Ambasador'' car. He is a loyal, intelligent and reliable person and is of great help when needed. He played a crucial role in ''Gorosthaney Sabhdhan'' where he saved the lives of Feluda, Jatayu, and Topshe. He also has a minor role in ''Boshpukery Khunkharapi'', where he takes part in a surveillance mission with the rest of Feluda's gang in
disguise A disguise can be anything incognito which conceals one's identity or changes a person's physical appearance, including a wig, glasses, makeup, fake moustache, costume or other items. Camouflage is a type of disguise for people, animals and o ...
playing 29 cardgame.


Maganlal Meghraj

Meghraj is a villainous character who appears in three Feluda stories, including ''Joi Baba Felunath'', ''Joto Kando Kathmandute'', and ''Golapi Mukta Rahasya''. He has been compared to
Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...
of the
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
series. Utpal Dutta immortalised this character in one Feluda movie '' Joi Baba Felunath'' and a Hindi Feluda Telefilm Kissa Kathmandu Mein, which
Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...
and
Sandip Ray Sandip Ray (born 8 September 1953) is an Indian film director and music director who mainly works in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is the only child of the famous Indian director Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray. Life and education San ...
directed respectively. After him
Mohan Agashe Mohan Agashe (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian psychiatrist and actor. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996 in theatre. Early life Agashe was born in Bhor, Maharashtra. He studied in B. J. Medical College, Pune for his MBBS ...
played this character twice in telefilms. Maganlal lives in Benaras. He has a house in Joka, Kolkata also. His son's name is Surajlal Meghraj. He is officially a money-lender but is involved in smuggling artifacts,
narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...
(through Indo-Nepal border) and jewellery. His Kolkata house had been raided once but he escaped any charges until Feluda caught him red-handed in smuggling an invaluable Ganesh Murti (an idol of the elephant god) during the case of '' Joi Baba Felunath''. However, he was not behind bars for a long time. In the nineteenth book, ''Jato Kando Kathmandute'', Feluda said that he was not at all surprised seeing Meghraj out of jail as that was nothing for such an influential person. Once again he was arrested in charge of
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
and smuggling, yet he averted any long term punishment and we saw him once again in the thirty-first story, ''Golapi Mukta Rahasya.'' Maganlal is a good judge of human character. He lured ''Bikash Singh'', secretary of ''Umanath Ghoshal'', to steal the invaluable 'Ganesh Murti' from the Ghoshal-house. He also has a special interest in humiliating ''Jatayu''. In ''Joi Baba Felunath'' he made Jatayu the subject of a knife-throwing play. In ''Jato Kando Kathmandute'', he purposefully slips an
LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...
-laced
sugar cube Sugar cubes are white sugar granules pressed into small cubes measuring approximately 1 teaspoon each. They are usually used for sweetening drinks such as tea and coffee. They were invented in the early 19th century in response to the difficulti ...
in Jatayu's tea. In his third appearance, he made Jatayu to sing a Tagore song (which Jatayu said his first time experience of singing a song). Surprisingly, he shows a queer fondness to Jatayu and usually calls him 'Uncle'. During these three stories, we see many accomplices of Maganlal. Some of them are Machhli-Baba, Bikash Sinha, Arjun the
knife A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least Stone Age, 2.5 million years ago, as e ...
thrower, Anantalaal Batra, Dr. Dibakar and Manohar. Maganlaal has his own ''Bajra'' by which he travels in Ganga near Benaras. The door of his house in Benaras is painted with figures of two swordsmen. During the making of the movie, '' ''Joi Baba Felunath'''', this swordsmen were painted by Satyajit Ray himself.


Pulak Ghoshal

Ghoshal is a
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
-based popular Hindi film director hailing from Kolkata. His original home in Kolkata is in the neighbourhood of Lalmohonbabu's in northern Kolkata's Garpar. He has directed two films based on Lalmohonbabu's stories. During the shooting of both these films, dangerous events took place, resulting in arrest of a producer in one film ('' Bombaiyer Bombete'') and arrest of an actor in another film (''Darjeeling Jamjomat'').


Minor characters

* Srinath is the domestic help of Feluda and Topshe. He is often seen serving tea and snacks for Feluda and his clients. * Jagannath is the household cook at Feluda's place. * Bharadwaj is the household cook at Lalmohan Babu's place. * Baikuntha Nath Mallik was a poet, tourist and Bangla teacher at Ethenium Institution where Lalmohan Babu used to study. When he was in the seventh grade, he won prize for reciting Baikuntha's poem on sea. Lalmohan Babu often describes him as a great poet who did not get the adulation he deserved. There is no presence of him in the story but in some stories we can see Jatayu reciting his poems.


Stories


In other media


Films

Satyajit Ray directed '' Sonar Kella'' (1974) and '' Joi Baba Felunath'' (1979) into movies in Bengali, starring actor
Soumitra Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; ; 19 January 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the histor ...
as Feluda, Santosh Dutta as Jatayu and Siddartha Chatterjee as Topshe. This two films created a cult following in Bengali cinema later years. Sandip Ray directed five Feluda theatrical feature-length films, starring actor
Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty ( is an Indian actor known for his work in theatre, films and television. He is best known for portraying iconic Bengali detective characters, Feluda, and Kakababu. Personal life His parents, Jagadish Chandra Chakrabarty ...
as Feluda, Parambrata Chatterjee as Topshe in the first three films (Later he was replaced by Saheb Bhattacharyya) and
Bibhu Bhattacharya Bibhu Bhattacharya (17 September 1944 – 23 September 2011) was an Indian actor who primarily appeared in Bengali TV and films. He was born in Jharia, Bihar, British India (now Jharia, Jharkhand, India). He gained prominence and became a househ ...
as Jatayu. But the first theatrically released Feluda film directed by Sandip Ray was '' Baksho Rahashya'' (1996) which was the first film of the Feluda TV film series and was made for television release only. It was released in theaters in December 2001. In this TV film
Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty ( is an Indian actor known for his work in theatre, films and television. He is best known for portraying iconic Bengali detective characters, Feluda, and Kakababu. Personal life His parents, Jagadish Chandra Chakrabarty ...
was Feluda,
Saswata Chatterjee Saswata Chatterjee (born 19 December 1970) is an Indian actor known for his work in Bengali cinema and television, with appearances in Hindi films. The son of actor Subhendu Chatterjee, he began his career with a Hindi television series direc ...
was Topshe and
Rabi Ghosh Robi Ghosh (; 24 November 1931 – 4 February 1997) was an Indian actor known for his work in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is known for his comic appeal, though his versatile acting talent brought him success in various kinds ...
was Jatayu. *'' Bombaiyer Bombete'' was released in December 2003. *'' Kailashey Kelenkari'' was released in December 2007. *'' Tintorettor Jishu'' was released in December 2008. *'' Gorosthaney Sabdhan'' was released in December 2010. * '' Royal Bengal Rahashya'', released in December 2011 Then Sandip Ray directed '' Badshahi Angti'' which was released in November 2014, in which
Abir Chatterjee Abir Chatterjee (born 18 November 1980) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the son of theatre personalities Phalguni Chatterjee and Rumki Chatterjee. He started his career with Bengali television and made his debut i ...
is playing Feluda for first time. This was going to be a
reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
to previous the Feluda film series after '' Royal Bengal Rahashya.'' However, in 2016 Sandip Ray cancelled the reboot series because
Abir Chatterjee Abir Chatterjee (born 18 November 1980) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the son of theatre personalities Phalguni Chatterjee and Rumki Chatterjee. He started his career with Bengali television and made his debut i ...
started a new version of film series based on the
Byomkesh Bakshi Byomkesh Bakshi is a fictional detective created by Bengali author Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. A self-proclaimed "satyanweshi" (literally seeker of truth), Bakshi is known for his keen observation, logical thinking, and knowledge of forensic sc ...
franchise under
Shree Venkatesh Films SVF Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian film production and distribution company, founded by Shrikant Mohta and Mahendra Soni in 1995. Apart from producing and distributing Bengali films in West Bengal, Bangladesh, Assam and Tripura, SVF a ...
and
Surinder Films Surinder Films is an Indian media and entertainment company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern port ...
. The other reason was the new Feluda movie Sandip Ray intended to make under a Mumbai-based production house
Eros International Eros International Media Ltd. (also known as Eros India) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based and originated in Mumbai, India. Founded by Arjan Lulla in 1977, it is one of the leading production and distribu ...
, but Abir has a strict contract with
Shree Venkatesh Films SVF Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian film production and distribution company, founded by Shrikant Mohta and Mahendra Soni in 1995. Apart from producing and distributing Bengali films in West Bengal, Bangladesh, Assam and Tripura, SVF a ...
and
Surinder Films Surinder Films is an Indian media and entertainment company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern port ...
. For the cancellation of the reboot series ''Badshahi Angti'' is now considered as a stand-alone reboot film. On 23 December 2022, Hatyapuri was released under the banner of Shadow Films. This was the reboot to the previous Feluda film series. The film was directed by
Sandip Ray Sandip Ray (born 8 September 1953) is an Indian film director and music director who mainly works in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is the only child of the famous Indian director Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray. Life and education San ...
and starred
Indraneil Sengupta Indraniel Sengupta is an Indian actor and model who works in Hindi and Bengali films and television. Early Life Sengupta was born on 8 September 1974 in Assam, India, to a Bengali Hindu family. He completed his education from Scottish Churc ...
as Feluda alongside Ayush Das and Abhijit Guha as Topshe and Jatayu respectively. Within a year and a half, Nayan Rahasya was released in May 2024, produced by
Surinder Films Surinder Films is an Indian media and entertainment company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern port ...
.
Indraneil Sengupta Indraniel Sengupta is an Indian actor and model who works in Hindi and Bengali films and television. Early Life Sengupta was born on 8 September 1974 in Assam, India, to a Bengali Hindu family. He completed his education from Scottish Churc ...
, Ayush Das and Abhijit Guha reprise the role of Feluda, Topshe and Jatayu respectively. *As a tribute to the 50-year anniversary of Feluda,a special film ''
Double Feluda ''Double Feluda'' is a 2016 Bengali language crime thriller detective film, based on the Bengali sleuth ''Feluda'', created by the acclaimed and renowned ''Oscar''-winning director Satyajit Ray. It is the 19th film in the ''Feluda'' series. ...
'' was released in December 2016. It was a continuation of the original Feluda movie series where
Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty ( is an Indian actor known for his work in theatre, films and television. He is best known for portraying iconic Bengali detective characters, Feluda, and Kakababu. Personal life His parents, Jagadish Chandra Chakrabarty ...
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 The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given ...
reprised their roles as Feluda and Topshe respectively. The movie consisted of two stories, Samaddar-er-Chabi and Golokdham Rahashya, shown on either half of the movie.


Television

* '' Kissa Kathmandu Mein'' (in Hindi, based on Joto Kando Kathmandute for
DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is an Indian state-owned entertainment television channel, founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It is the flagshi ...
) (1986).Feluda was played by
Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and producer known primarily for his work in Hindi films. He is considered as one of the greatest and most successful acto ...
, Jatayu by
Mohan Agashe Mohan Agashe (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian psychiatrist and actor. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996 in theatre. Early life Agashe was born in Bhor, Maharashtra. He studied in B. J. Medical College, Pune for his MBBS ...
, Topshe by Alankar Joshi and Magan Lal Meghraj once again by
Utpal Dutt Utpal Dutt (; 29 March 1929 – 19 August 1993) was an Indian actor, director, and writer-playwright. He was primarily an actor in Bengali theatre, where he became a pioneering figure in Modern Indian theatre, when he founded the "Little The ...
. * ''Ghurghutiyar Ghatona'' (1992) and ''Golokdham Rahasya'' (1992) were directed by Bibhash Chakraborty.Feluda was played by
Soumitra Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; ; 19 January 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the histor ...
in these two Bengali Feluda telefilms. In addition to the feature films, 10 Feluda stories have been filmed by Sandip Ray.
Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty ( is an Indian actor known for his work in theatre, films and television. He is best known for portraying iconic Bengali detective characters, Feluda, and Kakababu. Personal life His parents, Jagadish Chandra Chakrabarty ...
played that role in these Feluda telefilms. Jatayu was played by
Rabi Ghosh Robi Ghosh (; 24 November 1931 – 4 February 1997) was an Indian actor known for his work in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is known for his comic appeal, though his versatile acting talent brought him success in various kinds ...
in the first two TV films, after his death Anup Kumar played Jatayu and finally by
Bibhu Bhattacharya Bibhu Bhattacharya (17 September 1944 – 23 September 2011) was an Indian actor who primarily appeared in Bengali TV and films. He was born in Jharia, Bihar, British India (now Jharia, Jharkhand, India). He gained prominence and became a househ ...
.In all these Feluda TV films Topshe was played by
Saswata Chatterjee Saswata Chatterjee (born 19 December 1970) is an Indian actor known for his work in Bengali cinema and television, with appearances in Hindi films. The son of actor Subhendu Chatterjee, he began his career with a Hindi television series direc ...
.These television films under the names/packages: * ''Feluda 30'' (1996–1998) (for DD Bangla, Later Repeated in
Tara Muzik Tara Muzik was an Indian Bengali-language satellite and cable music-oriented television channel owned by the Saradha Group, a chit fund company. It was launched on 21 February 2005, as the first Bengali-language music-oriented channel in the ...
) (The Episodes were -
Baksho Rahashya,
Gosaipur Sargaram,
Sheyal Devta Rahashya,
Bosepukure Khunkharapi,
Joto Kando Kathmandu) * ''Satyajiter Goppo'' (1999) (made for DD Bangla) (The Episodes were -
Jahangirer Swarnamudra,
Ghurghutiyar Ghotona,
Golapi Mukto Rahashya,
Ambar Sen Antardhan Rahashya) * ''Satyajiter Priyo Golpo'' (2000) (for ETV Bangla) (The Episode was - Dr Munshir Diary)
From 1999 to 2001
Bangladesh Television Bangladesh Television (), commonly known by its acronym BTV (), is the state-owned television network of Bangladesh. The network was originally established as the East Pakistan branch of Pakistan Television Corporation, Pakistan Television in 1 ...
(BTV) aired nine Feluda TV films. The series gained a huge popularity in
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
. Sandip Ray has sold the rights of Feluda stories to Bangladeshi production company Kandy Productions, who are producing a TV series inspired by the original Feluda series. It premiered on
Channel i Channel i () is a Bangladeshi Bengali-language satellite and cable television channel owned by Impress Group. It was launched on 1 October 1999, as Bangladesh's first digital television channel. It is one of the oldest satellite television chan ...
as well as digitally on Bioscopelive from September, 2017. The series is available in India on the digital platform Addatimes Digital.
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
based Kandy Production is producing the series jointly with Top of Mind Creations, another Bangladeshi TV and film production house. This series depicted Feluda as a modern time detective. It has three episodes titled as 'Sheyal Devta Rahashya','Ghurghutiyar Ghotona' and 'Golokdham Rahashya. Parambrata Chatterjee plays Feluda and
Riddhi Sen Riddhi Sen is an Indian film actor who predominantly works in Bengali films along with a few Hindi films. He is the youngest actor in India to receive the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film ''Nagarkirtan''. He i ...
plays Topshe. The series is directed by Parambrata Chatterjee.'. The first Bangladeshi adaptation of Feluda was released in 2019.Feluda is played by versatile actor, Ahmed Rubel, it also stars legendary actor,
Abul Hayat Abul Hayat ( born 7 September 1944) is a Bangladeshi actor. He is also a writer, civil engineer and director. He earned Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Daruchini Dwip (2007) and was awarded Ekushey Padak fo ...
. It is directed by actor-director Tauquir Ahmed.It was titled ''Noyon Rohossho-Feluda''.It's still available on Bioscopelive.


Web series

* Feluda (Directed by Parambrata Chatterjee) A
Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...
streaming TV series "Feluda" from Bioscopelive streaming platform was directed by Parambrata Chatterjee who also played the title character along with
Riddhi Sen Riddhi Sen is an Indian film actor who predominantly works in Bengali films along with a few Hindi films. He is the youngest actor in India to receive the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film ''Nagarkirtan''. He i ...
playing Topshe was released in 2017–2018 in three seasons. This streaming TV series is not a part of the Feluda film canon directed by Satyajit Ray and Sandip Ray. Stories adapted were Sheyal Debota Rahasyo, Ghurghutiyar Ghotona, and Golokdham Rahasya and aired on Bioscopelive from September 2017. The series became available in India on digital platform Addatimes. * Feluda Pherot (Directed by
Srijit Mukherji Srijit Mukherji (born 23 September 1977) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Bengali cinema. His regular collaboration with veteran actor Prosenjit Chatterjee brought him into the limelight. His first featur ...
) In 2020 a streaming television series was made, named ‘Feluda Pherot’ based on the iconic Bengali detective and there will be two popular stories, ‘ Chhinnamastar Abhishap’ and 'Joto Kando Kathmandute'. Bengali actors Tota Roy Chowdhury is playing the main character 'Feluda' and Kalpan Mitra as 'Topesh' seemed to be his young assistant and the iconic character Lalmohan Ganguly, alias 'Jatayu' is playing by Anirban Chakraborty who played the main character in Detective Series Eken Babu before. It is available to stream on the web platform addatimes. The Season 1 released on 26 December 2020. The Season 2 is slated to release on October 2025. * Feludar Goyendagiri (Directed by
Srijit Mukherji Srijit Mukherji (born 23 September 1977) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Bengali cinema. His regular collaboration with veteran actor Prosenjit Chatterjee brought him into the limelight. His first featur ...
) The second series named '' Feludar Goyendagiri'' is from Hoichoi streaming service with the same cast and crew of Feluda Pherot. Darjeeling Jawmjawmat, the first season released on 17 June 2022. Hoichoi has announced the release date for Feludar Goyendagiri 2: Bhuswargo Bhoyonkawr. This Feluda series released on 20 December 2023. A third season, based on Royal Bengal Rahashya is in development, but will be directed by Kamaleswar Mukherjee. * Shabash Feluda (Directed by
Arindam Sil Arindam Sil (born 12 March 1964) is an Indian actor, film director and line producer who predominantly works in Bengali films. Early life Sil was born on 12 March 1964 in North Calcutta to a traditional joint family. He was a student of St. J ...
) The series is based on Gangtoke Gondogol, is centered on Feluda ( Parambrata Chattopadhyay) and Topshe ( Rwitobroto Mukherjee) who are on a family vacation in
Gangtok Gangtok (, ) is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Sikkim. The seat of East Sikkim district, eponymous district, Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an elevation of . The city's population of 100 ...
. Shabash Feluda released on 5 May 2023 on ZEE5.


Animation

In 2010 an animated TV film produced by DQE Productions titled '' Feluda: The Kathmandu Caper'' was produced and the rights were acquired by Disney Channel (India). The movie premiered on 1 January 2011. DQE Productions also made a 13-episode animation series named ''Mysteries and Feluda'' after the animated TV film for
Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...
. The series including the TV film was set into a new universe, where Feluda, Topshe and Jatayu have many gadgets.


Radio

* The first radio adaptation of Feluda was made by Satyajit Ray in the early 80s, '' Baksho Rahsaya'' with his usual cast like
Soumitra Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; ; 19 January 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the histor ...
as Feluda, Santosh Dutta as Jatayu, Siddartha Chatterjee as Topshe and Sushil Majumdar as Sidhu Jyatha along with other prominent actors like Haradhan Bandopadhyay,
Biplab Chatterjee Biplab Chatterjee is an Indian actor and director of television and films, mostly associated with the Bengali Film industry. Career Biplab started his film career with Satyajit Ray in his film '' Pratidwandi''. He is popular for his antagonis ...
and Bikash Roy. * Akashabani had produced Darjeeling Jomjomat casting a set of regular actors in radio. * In January 2007, the
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...
announced that it would produce at least two 'episodes' of the popular detective stories.
Hindi film Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and " Hollywood". The industry, producing films in t ...
star Rahul Bose speaks the leading role, with
Anupam Kher Anupam Kher (born 7 March 1955) is an Indian actor, director and producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, he has acted in more than 540 films. A veteran of Indian cinema, Kher is recipient of two Na ...
voicing Lalmohan. The first episode, "The Golden Fortress", aired on 10 February 2007 with the second episode, "The Mystery of the Elephant God", following on 11 August 2007. * In 2007 Sandip Ray rebooted the radio series with his own set of actors as
Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty ( is an Indian actor known for his work in theatre, films and television. He is best known for portraying iconic Bengali detective characters, Feluda, and Kakababu. Personal life His parents, Jagadish Chandra Chakrabarty ...
as Feluda, Parambrata Chatterjee as Topshe and
Bibhu Bhattacharya Bibhu Bhattacharya (17 September 1944 – 23 September 2011) was an Indian actor who primarily appeared in Bengali TV and films. He was born in Jharia, Bihar, British India (now Jharia, Jharkhand, India). He gained prominence and became a househ ...
as Jatayu. He made two new dramas based on, '' Gosainpur Sargaram'' and ''Dr. Munshir Diary''. They with '' Baksho Rahashya'', directed by Satyajit Ray, aired together on Big FM. *
Radio Mirchi Radio Mirchi ("''Mirchi"'' in Hindi meaning red chilli), also known as 98.3 Mirchi, is a nationwide network of private FM radio stations in India. It is owned by the ENIL, EntertainmentNetwork India Ltd (ENIL), which is one of the subsidiarie ...
Kolkata station airs thrillers in a radio drama format, under the programme name 'Sunday Suspense' which includes some Feluda stories. Feluda is voiced by
Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty ( is an Indian actor known for his work in theatre, films and television. He is best known for portraying iconic Bengali detective characters, Feluda, and Kakababu. Personal life His parents, Jagadish Chandra Chakrabarty ...
. Dip and Somak voices Topshe and Mir Afsar Ali voices the other characters. Bibhu Bhattacharya voiced Jatayu in only one episode. After Bhattacharya's death Jagannath Basu voices Jatayu. *
Radio Today Radio Today is a 24 hours radio station in Bangladesh that started airing in May 2006. It is currently available in Dhaka, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Khulna, Bogra, Sylhet, Mymensingh, Barishal, Kushtia, Comilla. History Radio Today started as ...
airs thrillers in a radio format, under the programme name '' Thursday Nightsaga'', which includes some Feluda stories. However, it stopped before finishing the Feluda novel ''Baksho Rahasya''.


Comics

Some of the Feluda stories have been made into comic strips by artists and authors. Abhijit Chattopadhyay creates a comic strip based on Feluda stories in every Pujabarshiki Anondomela. The comics are published by Ananda Publishers. English versions of comics have appeared in ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
''.
Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...
has released comic book versions of around 6 Feluda mysteries. The art is drawn by Tapas Guha and the script is by
Subhadra Sen Gupta Subhadra Sen Gupta (June 1952 – 3 May 2021) was an Indian writer. She was the winner of Sahitya Akademi's 2015 Bal Sahitya Puraskar and wrote over 30 books. Her book, ''Mystery of the House of Pigeons'', was adapted into a television series f ...
.


Music

In a collaborative album brought out in 1996 by
His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...
, Kabir Suman sings a 'Feludar Gaan' (Feluda's song). The song written by
Kabir Suman Kabir Suman (; born as Suman Chattopadhyay; 16 March 1949) is an Indian singer-songwriter, musician, music director, music composer, writer, actor, politician, and former journalist.Sandesh'' magazine on the special Feluda 30 issue released in December 1995 on the completion of 30 years of Feluda stories. Later, in a collaborative album by His Master's Voice, ''Choto Boro Miley'' (1996), the song was composed and performed by three-legend singer-songwriter
Kabir Suman Kabir Suman (; born as Suman Chattopadhyay; 16 March 1949) is an Indian singer-songwriter, musician, music director, music composer, writer, actor, politician, and former journalist.Nachiketa Chakraborty and
Anjan Dutt Anjan Dutt (born 19 January 1953) is an Indian film director, actor, and singer-songwriter known for his work in the Bengali alternative music genre ''anyodharar gaan''. As an actor, Dutta began his career in Bengali cinema in the Mrinal Se ...
. Later many of Bengali songs have references and symbols of Feluda franchise including "
Calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...
" by
Anjan Dutt Anjan Dutt (born 19 January 1953) is an Indian film director, actor, and singer-songwriter known for his work in the Bengali alternative music genre ''anyodharar gaan''. As an actor, Dutta began his career in Bengali cinema in the Mrinal Se ...
from the album '' Purono Guitar'' (1995).


Documentary

A Bengali documentary film '' Feluda: 50 Years of Ray's Detective'' in 2019 was directed by Sagnik Chatterjee. This is the first biopic of India based on a fictional character. This film was released on 7 June 2019.


In ''Pujabarshiki''

Nearly every Feluda story was published annually in the ''Pujabarshiki Sandesh and Desh''(the edition of ''desh and sandesh'' commemorating the
Durgapuja Durga Puja (ISO: , ), also known as Durgotsava or Shaaradotsava, is an annual festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victory over Mahishasura. ...
published every year). Thereafter the stories were published as hard-back editions by Ananda Publishers.In 2015 Feluda celebrates his 50 th years after appearance. This is printed as 'Feluda 50' in anandamela.


See also

*
Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...
*
Sandip Ray Sandip Ray (born 8 September 1953) is an Indian film director and music director who mainly works in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is the only child of the famous Indian director Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray. Life and education San ...
* Feluda in film *
Literary works of Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (1921–1992), a Bengali film director from India, is well known for his contributions to Bengali literature. He created two of the most famous characters in Feluda the sleuth and Professor Shanku the scientist. He wrote several ...
* Professor Shonku * Tarini khuro * Tarini Khuro in other media * Parashor Barma *
Kakababu Kakababu, or Raja Roy Chowdhury, is a fictional adventurer created by Bengali people, Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyay. The series debuted in the 1971 Puja issue of Anandamela, Anandamela magazine with ''Bhoyonkor Sundor'', and quickly became ...
*
Kakababu in other media Many films, television and comic book adaptation has been made with Sunil Gangopadhyay's Kakababu character. Here are the list of some other media adaptation. Films ''Sabuj Dwiper Raja'' (1979) This is the first feature film based on Kakababu, ...
*
Byomkesh Bakshi Byomkesh Bakshi is a fictional detective created by Bengali author Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. A self-proclaimed "satyanweshi" (literally seeker of truth), Bakshi is known for his keen observation, logical thinking, and knowledge of forensic sc ...
* Byomkesh Bakshi in other media *
Kolkata culture The culture of Kolkata concerns the music, art, museums, festivals, and lifestyle within Kolkata. It is the former capital of India and, , the capital of the states of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Geir Heierstad writes that Bengalis tend ...
*
Culture of Bengal The culture of Bengal defines the cultural heritage of the Bengali people native to eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, mainly what is today Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura, where they form the dominant ...
*
Culture of West Bengal The culture of West Bengal is an Indian culture which has its roots in Bengali literature, music, fine arts, drama and cinema. It is intertwined with the Culture of Bengal, culture of the ''Bengal region'' of the Indian subcontinent. Differe ...
*
Bengali literature Bengali literature () 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 and dynastic patronization or non-patronization. Bengali h ...
* History of Bengali literature *
List of Bengali-language authors (chronological) A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...


Notes


References


External links

*
Feluda Films
' – BBC, 18 Jan 2010. * Roy, Pinaki. "''The Postcolonial Sleuth for Adoloscents'': Rereading Satyajit Ray's Feluda-narratives". ''Clues: A Journal of Detection'' (McFarland). 36.1 (Spring 2018): 78–89. {{Authority control Book series introduced in 1965 Literary characters introduced in 1965 Culture of Kolkata Male characters in literature Fictional private investigators Indian crime novels Fictional Indian detectives Fictional Indian people in literature Characters created by Satyajit Ray Fictional Bengali people Feluda (series) Novel series by featured character Novels set in India Fictional amateur detectives Sherlock Holmes pastiches