Feluda
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Feluda (Bengali: ফেলুদা) is a fictional character starring in a series of short stories created by the famous Indian film director and writer Satyajit Ray. He plays the part of private detective in Calcutta, India. Feluda first made his appearance in a Bengali children’s magazine called “Sandesh” in 1965. He was an instant hit and soon developed an adult following much like Harry Potter.
Satyajit Ray has been criticised for imitating certain aspects of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes but in reality the Feluda stories are only loosely based on the famous detective. Indeed, in the story Feluda in London Feluda actually pays a visit to Baker Street to pay homage to his mentor.
Feluda's real name is Pradosh Chandra Mitter, His nickname is "Felu", the suffix “da” being short for “dada” or “elder brother” in the Bengali language.
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[edit] Other Characters
Tapesh Ranjan Mitter, Felu's cousin, who is fondly referred to as Topshe, is based on Sherlock Holmes' John Watson. He is the quintessential accomplice and faithfully records each adventure accurately. Though Feluda often teases his young cousin, he is extremely fond of Tapesh and is very protective of him.
Lalmohan Ganguli, or Lalmohan Babu, is a close friend of Felu and is described as the author of a series of Bengali crime thrillers written under the pseudonym Jatayu. His novels are described in the stories as unbelievable, considering that his main character is always the six-and-a-half foot tall superhero Prakhar Rudra. Though all his novels seem to have become bestsellers he often tends to make extremely silly mistakes such as spelling igloos as ilgoos. (In Baksho Rahasya or A Mysterious Case) he confuses hippos with walruses - 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", although he sometimes does some brave acts not expected of him. He owns a green ambassador car, the chauffeur is a man called Haripada, who provided enormous service to Feluda in a few stories, especially in Gorosthaney Sabdhan where he saved the life of the trio. 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 character to some extent, making him look and behave quite like Santosh Dutta.
Sidhu Jyatha is an aged character who has described himself to be like Sherlock Holmes's brother Mycroft. He is a bibliophile and has an extensive base of general knowledge,current and historical affairs. He is a close friend of Feluda's father, being neighbours in their ancestral village. Feluda's "uncle" is said to have a photographic memory and is a vast source of information and 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.
Srinath is the domestic cook of Feluda and Topshe.
Maganlal Meghraj is a villainous character that appears in several of Feluda's stories, including Joy Baba Felunath, Jato Kando Kathmandute and Golapi Mukta Rahasyao. He has been compared to Professor Moriarty. Utpal Dutt immortalized this character in one Feluda movie Joi Baba Felunath, which Satyajit Ray directed.
[edit] Fiction
Satyajit Ray wrote thirty-five Feluda stories, most of which were extremely popular among Bengali children as well as adults.
Some of the stories were published in hard-cover editions, while some stories were published as a collection with other new stories. Some stories also appeared in the short story collections of Ray, which characteristically used to contain 12 short stories, including a few featuring Feluda.
Every year a new Feluda adventure appeared in the special Autumn edition or Durgapuja edition of the Bengali periodical - Desh, and also in Sandesh.
Lately, a series of Feluda collections have also been published, containing several stories in a single title. Most recently Feluda titles have been accumulated under Feluda Shamagra.
Following is a list of hard cover edition books with some details:
| Name | Name in English | Publication |
|---|---|---|
| Badshahi Angti | The Emperor's Ring | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1969. Sandesh, 1966 |
| Gangtokey Gandagol | Trouble in Gangtok | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1971. Desh, Autumn Special, 1970 |
| Sonar Kella | The Golden Fortress | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1971. Desh, Autumn Special, 1971 |
| Bakso Rahashya | The Mysterious suitcase | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1973. Desh, Autumn Special, 1972 |
| Kailashey Kelenkari | A Killer in Kailash | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1974. Desh, Autumn Special, 1973 |
| Royal Bengal Rahashya | The Royal Bengal Mystery | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1975. Desh, Autumn Special, 1974 |
| Joi Baba Felunath | The Mystery of the Elephant God | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1976. Desh, Autumn Special 1975 |
| Feluda and Co. (Collection of two stories) | Feluda and Co. | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1976. Containing : Bombaiyer Bombete (The Buccaneers of Bombay) (Desh, Autumn Special 1976), Gosainpur Sargaram (The Mystery of the Walking Dead) (Sandesh, Autumn Special 1976) |
| Gorosthaney Sabdhan | Beware at the Graveyard | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1979. Desh, Autumn Special, 1977 |
| Chhinnamastar Abhishap | The Curse of the Goddess | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1981. Desh, Autumn Special 1978 |
| Hatyapuri | The House of Death | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1981. Desh, Autumn Special 1979 |
| Jato Kando Kathmandutey | The Criminals of Kathmandu | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1982. Desh, Autumn Special, 1980 |
| Tintorettor Jishu | Tintoretto's Jesus | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1983 Desh, Autumn Special 1982 |
| Feluda One Feluda Two (Collection of two stories) | Feluda One Feluda Two | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1985. Containing : Ebar Kando Kedarnathey (Crime in Kedarnath) (Sandesh, 1981), Napoleon er Chithhi (Napoleon's Letter) (Desh, Autumn Special 1984) |
| Darjeeling Jamjamat | Danger in Darjeeling | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1987. Desh, Autumn Special 1986 |
| Double Feluda (Collection of two stories) | Double Feluda | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1989. Containing : Apsara Theatre er Mamla (The Case of the Apsara Theatre) (Sandesh, Autumn Special 1987), Bhuswarga Bhayankar (Peril in Paradise) (Desh, Autumn Special 1987) |
| Nayan Rahashya | The Mystery of Nayan | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1991. Desh, Autumn Special 1990 |
| Feluda Plus Feluda (Collection of two stories) | Feluda Plus Feluda | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1992. Containing : Golapi Mukta Rahashya, The Mystery of the Pink Pearl (Sandesh, Autumn Special 1989), London ey Feluda (Feluda in London) (Desh, Autumn Special 1989) |
| Robertson er Ruby | Robertson's Ruby | Ananda Publishers, Calcutta 1994, Desh, Autumn Special 1992 |
Feluda's books have also been translated into English and have been published by Penguin Books.
[edit] Short Stories
In addition to the above, Ray also wrote some shorter stories on Feluda which have been included in many of his short story collections. These include:
- Feludar Goendagiri (Feluda's Investigation)
- Kailash Choudharyr Pathar (Kailash Chowdhury's Jewel)
- Ghurghutiyar Ghatana (The Incident of Gurghutiya)
- Samaddarer Chabi (Samaddar's Key)
- Sheyal Debota Rahasya (The mystery of Anubis)
- Ambar Sen Antardhyan Rahasya (The Mysterious Disappearance of Mr Ambar Sen)
- Jahangirer Swarnamudra (Jahangir's Gold Coins)
- Golokdham Rahasya (The Mystery of Golokdham)
- Bosepukure Khunkharapi (Murder at Bosepukur)
- Shakuntalar Kanthahar (Shakuntala's Necklace)
- Indrajal Rahasya (The Mystery of Magic)
- Dr Munshir Diary (Dr Munshi's Diary}
Apart from these a number of unfinished Feluda stories have also been published in various collection of stories of Satyajit Ray.
[edit] Feluda in other media
[edit] Films
Sonar Kella and Joi Baba Felunath were made into movies in Bengali starring actor Soumitra Chatterjee as Feluda, Santosh Dutta as Jatayu and Siddhartha Chatterjee as Topshe.
A more recent film is Bombaiyer Bombete (released Dec 2003), which stars a new set of actors, Sabyasachi Chakraborty as Feluda, Paramabrata as Topshe and Bivu Bhattacharya as Jatayu; directed by Ray's son Sandip Ray, who is also a film-maker. This film continued in the box office in West Bengal and Kolkata for three months. Ray Jr. has remade Satyajit Ray's Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress) with a new cast of actors. Sandip Ray is also making a film on Tintorettor Jishu.The most recent film that he has put his hand to is Kailashey Kelenkari
[edit] Telefilms
In addition to the Feature Films, many of the Feluda stories have been filmed by Sandip Ray as Telefilms under the names/packages:
- Satyajit Ray Presents (In Hindi)
- Dr Munshir Diary (Dr Munshi's Diary)
- Feluda 30 (Commemorating 30 years of Feluda)
In the Hindi telefilms, Feluda was played by Shashi Kapoor and Jatayu by Mohan Agashe. Feluda was played by Soumitra Chatterjee in a few of the Bengali telefilms while Sabyasachi Chakraborty played most of them. Jatayu was played sometimes by Rabi Ghosh, sometimes by Anup Kumar and finally by Bibhu Bhattacharya after the death of Santosh Dutta
[edit] Radio
In January, 2007, the BBC World Service announced that it would produce at least two 'episodes' of the popular detective stories. Bollywood star Rahul Bose speaks the leading role, with Anupam Kher voicing Lalmohan. The first episode, "The Golden Fortress", aired on February 10th, 2007 with the second episode, "The Mystery of the Elephant God" following on August 11th, 2007.
[edit] Feluda in Pujabarshiki
Nearly every Feluda story was published annually in the Pujabarshiki Desh (the edition of Desh commemorating the Durgapuja published every year). Thereafter the stories were published as hard-back editions by Ananda Publishers.
Some of the stories were published originally in Sandesh, a children's magazine co-edited by Satyajit Ray.
[edit] Feluda in Bengali mindset and Socio-ethical Perspective
Feluda's adventures offer an interesting commentary on socio-ethical change, and the deep psychological and sociological transformation due to the student unrest and political upheavals in eastern India during the later half of the 20th century. Through Feluda, its creator Satyajit Ray captured the diverse cross-segments of the Indian (and more specifically Kolkata) society, in a dispassionate manner, while remaining firmly rooted in middle class intellectual idealism and thereby subconsciously maintaining a discreet distance from the social substratum of the malefactor.
[edit] Aami aar Feluda- A book by Sandip Ray
Sandip Ray, the son of Satyajit Roy has come up with his account of the time he has had with Feluda in the book named "Aami aar Feluda", published by Deep Prakashan. Aami aar Feluda was one of the best sellers in the last Kolkata Book Fair. First published in the magazine "Sukhi Grihokon" as a short series, "Aami aar Feluda" retains the flavour of "Ekei Bole Shooting", written by Satyajit Ray. Sandip's book deals with the background stories of all Feluda Movies and Telefilms. "Aami aar Feluda" is ghost-written by author Sebabrata Banerjee. Sebabrata has tried to follow the smart and fluent style of writing introduced by Satyajit Ray which has made the new Feluda number a good reading experience. A collectors' Item for Hardcore Feluda fans.
[edit] Trivia
- In the initial stories, Feluda was the son of the maternal uncle of Topshe, the assistant. However, the relationship changed! Later, Feluda became the son of the paternal uncle of Topshe. (The point is raised by one of Feluda's fans in a short story later, calling Topshe a liar due to his inconsistency. To this Feluda answers that when Topshe was writing in the early days, he was trying to add fictional elements to the 'real stories'. Later on, at Feluda's request, he wrote things as they were.)
- Jatayu, the other sidekick, was introduced later in the series. After casting Santosh Dutta in the role of Jatayu in the film Sonar Kella, Satyajit Ray was so impressed that he began sketching Jatayu like the real life Santosh Dutta in the following novels. Jatayu owns a Green Ambassador that is used by the "three musketeers" in several stories.
- Jatayu, according to Ray, had been a very vigorous man in his youth but following an accident (he fell down while swinging from a curtain rod) in which he dislocated his knee caps, he lost all interest in physical activity and turned to writing instead. Jatayu, it was first said lived in Bhadreswar, which in a later story was transformed to 1, Gorpar Road. Satyajit Roy even changed Jatayu's physical appearance viewing Santosh Dutta in Sonar Kella.
- The stories Kailash Choudhary's Jewel, The Locked Chest, The Royal Bengal Mystery, The Curse of the Goddess and The Mystery of The Walking Dead all had riddles and puns as their central theme. Since these riddles were in Bengali, the translator Gopa Manjumdar, could not effectively translate these stories into English and felt like giving up. However, following a couple of conversations with her editor and the then deceased Ray's wife Bijoya Ray, she changed the plots of each story to a slight degree. As a result, the English versions have a slighty different plot from the Bengali ones.
- The first four Feluda stories to appear in English were the longest ones written (The Golden Fortress, The Buccaneer of Bombay, The Mystery of Golok Lodge and Midnight in the Graveyard) and were translated by Charita Bannerjee. But all the others were translated by Gopa Manjumdar.
- The character of Shidhu Jyatha, who is unrelated to Feluda (ones father's elder brother is usually addressed as Jyatha), finds a place in many stories as a "living encyclopedia". A collector of newspaper cuttings carrying news that interest him and possessed with a photographic memory, he helps out Feluda whenever help is needed, and introduces the case "Kailashe Kelenkari" to Feluda.
- The only other "recurring" characters in Feluda are Jatayu's driver, Haripodo babu, Feluda's cook Srinath, and Maganlal Meghraj, who appears as the villain in multiple Feluda stories.
- In Londone Feluda, while walking down Baker Street, Feluda says,addressing Sherlock Holmes (or Arthur Conan Doyle), "Guru, you were here, so we exist" (The Sherlock Holmes Museum is not mentioned). In another story, he is absolutely amazed by a tv performance of Sherlock Holmes (probably by Jeremy Brett). The story "Royal Bengal Rahasya" has a subplot similar to Holmes' "The Musgrave Ritual".
- Séances and Hypnotism appear as common occurrences in several stories.
- In Nayan Rohosyo, the title character's "talent" is vaguely similar to that of a character in the Tintin comic "The Seven Crystal Balls". In Feluda's stories, as well as in the movie "Sonar Kella", Tintin books make frequent appearances.
