User Reviews

Perhaps the most vital thing for a film to work is a combination of script and casting. Unfortunately, the casting was totally off-center and the script fell weak.

The emphasis, knowingly or unknowingly, was more on marital discord and Byomkesh Bakshi was reduced to a mere character. If you can ignore that, then this could be a watch at home.

The pace of the film is another issue. Sometimes crippling and sometimes, just chugging along. Being the anal-eye that I am, the was throwing up with the computer graphics.

You would, however, not take back anything from this film, other than the tunes composed by Debojyoti Mishra.

Byomkesh Bakshi suddenly became a darling of our film industry and when Rituparno Ghosh decided to do Satyanweshi, I had to take note. His choice of director friend Sujoy Ghosh as Byomkesh was already interesting and like everybody, I too had a lot of expectations. Whatever flak this film got thereafter has to do with the untimely death of Mr Ghosh as I feel if he could have completed this movie, it would not have been a disaster. It was a hurriedly finished project after his demise, the last few scenes and the CGI used were horrific. I will not even consider this as Rituparno's work, as anything which is even 90% finished can't bear your name till you give the final touches. 6/10

This movie is awfully directed. I felt story line had a great suspense potential. Byomkesh's character is awful. dialogues are awful. Despite of potential suspense story direction is very poor for this movie. With all respect to Late Rituparna Ghosh, he made this movie as an art film instead of a thriller. This could have a been a better movie than this. Sujoy Ghosh looks dull in lead character. Background music was very bad. Poor poor dialogue delivery. Byomkesh is different here than you read and imagine . This is the worst suspense movie in Bangla I ever watched.... Byomkesh does not seem to work there.. he is not thinking much.. Movie is a total disappointing. Intead watch Hindi Byomkesh series in youtube which is worth watching..

As darkness descended over Kolkata on September 5th, an eager crowd had gathered in front of Priya Cinema. Late director Rituparno Ghosh's last directorial venture was finally revealed itself to audiences in a special screening at one of the most famed cinema halls in the city. The crème of the Bengali film industry along with fans alike missed the presence of the director himself but were eager and excited to catch the premiere. The film opens with Maharaja Arunagshu, the ruler of Balwantpur discovering about his son Himangshu's romances abroad and writing down a will that prevented Himangshu from inheriting the position of Maharaja if he marries a non-Hindu girl. Enter the sleuth Byomkesh Bakshi, a role expertly adapted by Kahaani director Sujoy Ghosh. He is on a train heading to Balwantpur with his author friend Ajit (Anindya Chatterjee), on an invitation for hunting by Maharaja Himangshu himself. However the mystery thickens when Himangshu reveals to Byomkesh about the disappearance of Harinath, the palace librarian, and how the queen was devastated at the ill event. Byomkesh, known for his brilliance and zeal to seek the truth starts investigating the mysterious disappearance, while Ajit finds out about the loneliness of queen Alaka and that her only friend in the palace was Harinath, for whose disappearance she blamed her husband. Maharaja Himangshu, in a desperate attempt to win back his wife's trust, threatens Byomkesh at point blank range. But Byomkesh, being the truth seeker that he is, solves the mystery of the palace and Balwantpur and finally, the royal physician Kaligati (Sibaji Bandyopadhay) turns out to be the culprit. Rituparno Ghosh's Satyanweshi does justice to Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay's Chorabali, on which the film is based. Sujoy Ghosh fit perfectly in the role of the sleuth Byomkesh Bakshi and Sibaji Bandyopadhyay portrayed the double faced villain Kaligati brilliantly. The rest of the cast too performed their best, which includes Anindya Chatterjee as Ajit, Arpita Chatterjee as Rani Alaka and Indraneil Mukherjee as Maharaja Himangshu. The biggest leverage, however, is the music. Debajyoti Mishra's soothing rendition of Rabindranath Tagore's Shukhohin Nishidin, Rituparno Ghosh's Taradim Taradim and Kalidasa's Meghdutam clearly becomes the icing on the cake. Matching the sounds of the era of the maharajas, the only 3 songs are placed articulately, to go with the flow of the low paced thriller. Overall, Satyanweshi pays tribute to the writer Sharadindu Bandopadhyay as well as the director whose vision crafted the film. A must watch for every Rituparno Ghosh fan, as his last directorial venture does not cease to impress.

Movie is dull. Casting was awful. Direction is pathetic.

While there is a whole new wave of same old sleuth, private/consulting detectives being created worldwide, it is very likely to expect Byomkesh in a rejuvenated format. The re-incarnation of Sherlock created by BBC or our own Feluda by Sandip Ray has raised the bars. Byomkesh could not cross this hurdle. Even the two Byomkesh movies played by Aabir (I don't remember the names) was better.

Even more irony - Ajit looked smarter and sharper than Byomkesh.

You can refrain from watching this movie even if you are a die hard Byomkesh fan. No harm done. Nothing to lose.

Satyanweshi, apart from being the last memorabilia of Rituparno Ghosh, it is also one of those movies which humanizes an overtly intelligent and suave detective. Rituparno's Byomkesh Bakshi is not a person who gets extraterrestrial hints on the case but places the cleverly observed facts to solve the jigsaw puzzle. He abstains from smoking until he succeeds in solving the case and offers bribe to a Rajbari servant. There is corruption and there is confusion. BB is not restricted to a particular shade of black or white but is given the essential traits of grey to make him more understandable by the lay man.

This time it is the Rajbari in a problem. A person is missing out of nowhere and nobody has a clue. He has been searched everywhere but in vain. Finally, the Raja, Raja Himangshu calls upon the famous sleuth aka Satyanweshi to look into the matter. Ajit and Satyanweshi are welcomed to the kingdom of Balwantpur. Things are obviously not in place and it is only possible for BB to sort out the problem.

Sujoy Ghosh is no doubt an appropriate fit for the role, given the fact how effortlessly he manages to play the eager Bakshi. Anindya, Arpita and Indraneil were judiciously excellent in their respective roles too. Satyanweshi is a must-watch for two reasons:

#1. Ritu Da's latest and last. #2. Sujoy's BB play!

Why, why, WHY was this allowed by any self-respecting Bangali to see the light of day? There sure is a crime involved in this story - and that is the brutal and vicious murder of one of the greatest icons of Bengali literature, Byomkesh Bakshi. It is also a highly irresponsible and arrogant act of ripping apart one of the best detective stories written in Bengali. What infernal right did Rituparno Ghosh have to do any of this? Most of the characters in the film cannot even pronounce Bengali words without a spurious "English" accent, Sujoy Ghosh (who is he??)included. No one can act to save their lives. Even the veteran actor playing Kaligati delivers his lines with unnatural pauses between words, in a singsong voice, reminding you of high school plays. Anindya as Ajit is tubby, insipid and only marginally better than the rest. And Sujoy Ghosh as Byomkesh makes you want to cry.

When I watched Shubho Muhurat a long time ago, I was amazed by the taut screenplay, wonderful adaptation of the Agatha Christie story, and the handling of the mystery by the director. I can go back to that movie again and again to watch Rakhi, Sumanta Mukherjee and character actors like Rajesh Sharma. It is tragic to see the same director deliver something like "Satyanweshi." This film has scarred me for life.

The 2012 Byomkesh film Anjan Dutt made with Abir Chatterjee and Saswata (based on Chitrachor) was an infinitely better film. That's because Anjan Dutt chose not to deviate from the story unnecessarily, wrote a really smart screenplay, and chose people who knew their business - i.e. acting. Although Abir lacked the polish and finesse of Saswata, he looked right and was competent if not scintillating. Keeping the narration in was a great idea too. Probably this movie worked because the director, for once, was not trying to be smart. Sometimes, it pays to acknowledge that you are not God but just another film director, who is capable of making bad movies as well as good ones.

A bad film is a bad film. An awful film is an awful film, and it is not wrong to say so. Even if its director is dead, even if it is his "swan song", even if he has made some good movies in the past. And I think it is high time we grew up and stopped idolizing our "famous" Bengalis. Rituparno had potential, he made some good movies, and he made some bad movies. That doesn't make him any less. And it certainly does not make him God.

Byomkesh Bakshi is a popular private investigator character in Bengali Thrillers and created by late Sri Sharadendu Banerjee. In recent years Byomkes Bakshi has been revitalized in Bengali cinema after a long gap in late 60s when Shri Satyajit Ray made "Chiriyakhana" which is the first Byomkesh movie. This Byomkesh cinema is based on the story named as "chorabali" which Shri Ghosh renamed as "Satyenshi". The original story was modified and extended in order to make a full length feature film. However in doing so the flavor of the thriller is completely lost .Instead of focusing on the detail of the investigation Shri Ghosh brought in personal relationship issues with Byomkesh set aside. Anyone will say that the three name game is a poor investigative strategy. The script is very weak and the whole pace of the movie is extremely slow. In the last scene it was not clear why Himangshu was bilnd-folded although it was a night of new moon and it would be more natural in the dark that Himangshu can show his sound detection hit capability ( shabdovedi). It appears to me that Shri Ghosh just trying to use the Byomkesh brand name in making the movie but on the core he put his own agenda which has no connection with the thriller.

#satyanweshi out of the world.. Spellbound ,speechless and completely engrossed into it. No superficial dialogues to earn stupid claps from public, no high end drama, yet Rituparno proves a thriller can be made without all these , just using supreme intelligence. the most "erudite" bomkesh till date..it seemed as if we are in a time machine and visiting 1940s, a period so perfectly created by the master, such a marvelous storytelling. and the story gets on you with time.. more the film goes, and by intermission you are completely sunk into it, deep down .. I don't think i can be out of the whole mystic world created in Satyanweshi for the next few days, absolutely stunning film.I miss you Rituparno Ghosh, more after watching this classic, for the last time.!

Acting of all of characters (except Ajit) are good. Now, the worst thing are... 1. Too Slow for a detective film. 2. Boooooring. 3. Screenplay is totally different. 4. The Dialogues are all mixed-up with "Past-present". 5. In the whole film Byomkesh did not smoke for once. (A main trademark of him). 6. Full of mistakes...!! 7. The main writer was "Saradindu Bandopaddhyay". And the director just rewrite (totally) & just wanted to proof that he can make it better...!!! (no more comment about Late Rituparno Ghosh) 8. After seeing the two movies directed by "Anjan Dutta" & acted by Abir Chatterjee, this is the totally hurt my mind...!

At last, I just want to say... Do not take it as the real Byomkesh... Just take this film as a Detective story, where the characters have the same names from the novel "Chorabali" of "Saradindu Bandopaddhyay".

Ritu Da's last film and as usual its a masterpiece. Sujoy Ghosh's portrayal as Byomkesh was ideal and so was the story. Will recommend everyone to go for the movie not because it's a Rituparno Ghosh film but for the sheer cinematic pleasure it brings on screen. It is a fresh experience to see a new Byomkesh, the smart,suave sleuth that he is and Anindya as Ajit was equally convincing. Ritu Da's on screen grandeur was prominent even in this detective film with embroidered drapes,lanterns, exquisite jewelery and the big palace. The film is paced in a way which gives the audience ample time to think along with Byomkesh and Ajit. Indraneil and Arpita was perfect as the King and Queen of Balwantpur. In total its a great experience to watch it and remember the legendary director that we all love and miss.

The worst from Ghosh, maybe the second. This is what happens when every single directors, even the artsy ones try to churn from the same source material; and you get one of the worst Byomkesh movies.

Most awful and disgusted Byomkesh ever I have seen last night.

No Offense but Sujoy GHOSH???? Are you kidding me?? His dialog deliveries looked as if he was in a talk show!! I don't know what led the late Rituda to cast Sujoy Ghosh as Byomkesh, but Byomkesh needed to be a much more dynamic personality (At least we get a much more clear image about his style, personality from the pages of the novels). Seriously, Rajat Kapoor's portrayal as this super-sleuth in the early 90's TV series cannot be matched. I am a big fan of Byomkesh and his techniques, but Sujoy disappointed me a little. Sujoy Ghosh lacked the charm and grandeur which defines Byomkesh Bakshi.. But the story was good and Rituparno Ghosh's last piece of work is quite a delight... 4 out of 5 from my side