The multiple Byomkesh adaptations Bengal keeps churning out might not make for great cinema, but, based as they mostly are rather slavishly on Saradindu’s work, enthrall new audiences regardless.

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! is the best looking and least captivating of the current lot.

Bandopadhyay’s stories are a page-turner. The same cannot be said for Banerjee’s story which while it is ambitious on scale falls short on pace and thrill. Banerjee gets a tad too indulgent with the technical crafts. It comes at the cost of a lack of engaging tug-of-war between Bakshy and his nemesis; Banerjee and Juvekar don’t manage to give him enough weight in screen time. The editing is sluggish which only hampers the narrative. Overall, the canvas is great but the work on it leaves a lot to be desired.

There are many factors which may make the film struggle at the Box Office. A few of them include unwanted violence (esp. in the second half), a plot that went haywire and also too much of thriller elements. Generally, any kind of murder mystery comes with a sinister motive, which gets revealed towards the end. But, in the case of DETECTIVE BYOMKESH BAKSHY!, the film gets dragged on endlessly, even after the culprit has been identified!

…can be skipped, without any regrets.

If only the audience were given a role to play a part in solving the crime, methinks this would have been mind-blowing.

All the same, if you are looking for something different, DBB is something that you can venture out to see.

Watch it once for some great performances and fabulous production values that one hasn’t seen in Hindi films in a long time.

What attracts you more is the artistry of the film, the frames and the montages are A-rate. They take you on a nostalgia trip and bring out the Bengali-ness of the setting. With the film being a cliff hanger, India gets its own promising franchise Sherlock Holmes-esque franchise.