A tall handsome man, intelligent enough to carry a library worth of information in his mind and a sidekick who has a habit of writing and some witty comments to share, that’s what has captivated all the Bengali audience looking for a detective crime thriller.
The prime examples of this being “Byomkesh” and “Feluda”. Even after literally more than half a century later the influence of these two characters on pop culture is irreplaceable.
But with passing time and multiple reiterations of the same stories on the big screens, audiences are craving for something new.
Something that doesn’t follow the same old pattern laid out by the classics.
And this is where “Eken Babu” is special. The on screen adaptation of the character is appropriately portrayed by Anirban Chakraborty.
A detective with all the Bengali tropes and a hilarious sense of humour feels like a breath of fresh air. Ekendra Sen, unlike your average classic detective, is in no way perfect.
He is flawed, he makes mistakes and that’s his approach that feels intriguing and new.
Hoichoi’s “Eken Babu” started as a web series and after two successful seasons, it has reached the big screen as well.
The very talented cast including Anirban Chakraborty, Somak Ghosh, Payel Sarkar, Sandipta Sen, and Rajatabha Dutta under the direction of Joydeep Mukherjee have mesmerised the audience.
The success of Eken Babu proves that even in the shadow of iconic classics like Feluda and Byomkesh, there’s still room for fresh, relatable storytelling that balances wit and imperfection, reminding us why we fell in love with Bengali detective tales in the first place.