Director Soumik Haldar: The Bengal famine in Byomkesh series added elements to our detective genre narrative

At the celebration of Hoichoi's 50^th Original screening at Kolkata's Saturday Club, team Hoichoi screened the fifth season of Byomkesh which was directed by Soumik Haldar. During an exclusive conversation with International Business Times, the cast members shared their gratitude to the website for perpetually acting as their pillar of support and working as an aggregator.

In a surprising turn of events, the fifth season of Byomkesh has connected the story with the historical time when the Bengal famine took place in India under colonialism.

While commenting on it, the director Soumik Haldar said, "When I got the script two stories have been combined in the web-series of Byomkesh. The combination in the cinema has managed to create an interesting element, something which wasn't there in the book, but this created a different vibe. It created a kind of contrast in the script. Our scriptwriter Sougata has managed to incorporate the two sequences perfectly. When we sat together with the script our main motive was to make sure that it reflects better than the previous Byomkesh seasons. We wanted to make it more interesting and different, so that's why we kept the web-series in the backdrop of the Bengal famine. It simultaneously justifies why Byomkesh Bakshi here is so restless, vulnerable, disturbed with the political atmosphere. He is so concerned about the state of Bengal that he gets deeply affected. Our Byomkesh Bakshi is not a prim and proper guy. He is also a concerned citizen affected by everything India is going through under the reign of the imperialists."

Over the years, men in the Hindi film industry has been running under the theory of 'mard ko dard nehi hota'. Actors such as Vicky Kaushal, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao have been involved in projects where men have been seen as vulnerable creatures who break down and hunt for the emotional support of a woman.

Anirban Bhattacharya too in Byomkesh has bravely portrayed the other side of a man. A man who breaks down. While talking about his independent construction of Byomkesh Bakshi, director Soumik said,"Byomkesh is a very normal human being and Satyabati is a very important character, not just as a person in terms of the script but also in Byomkesh Bakshi's life. Much like a husband, Byomkesh also needs to confide himself in her. Satyabati is not just here as an extra, she is an important part in developing Byomkesh Bakshi's personal life, she acts like an influence."