By PTI
KOLKATA: The shooting for a crime thriller movie involving Feluda, the popular detective character created by Satyajit Ray, faces uncertainty with a difference of opinion about casting between its director Sandip Ray and the production house.
The shooting for ‘Hatyapuri’ (Murder in Puri) cannot take place immediately due to creative differences with the production house SVF, but “talks are on with two-three other producers,” the filmmaker said.
“Talks (with other producers) are still at an initial stage. But I am positive about doing the film. This much I can say now,” Sandip Ray, the son of ‘Pather Panchali’ maker, told PTI.
Asked whether the discussions fell through due to the difference of opinion about casting between Ray and the production house, an SVF spokesperson confirmed the development.
To a question, if the project with SVF was shelved on the difference about the lead cast, Ray said he did not agree with some suggestions of the production house.
“There were creative differences,” the filmmaker said.
“Under the SVF banner, Feluda, based on Satyajit Ray’s murder thriller ‘Hatyapuri’, was gearing up to peek into the minds of the audience in a new avatar with his cousin Tapesh and their hilarious pulp fiction writer friend Jatayu this year in December. The fate of this Feluda adventure is unclear, as SVF has officially turned down the project amidst major casting issues,” a spokesperson of the production house told PTI.
Industry sources said the filmmaker had been thinking about casting actor Indraneil Sengupta in the role of Feluda and director Abhijit Guha as Lalmohan Ganguly aka Jatayu but the production house was not okay with these names.
Ray and the production house had jointly declared the project in December 2021 and set a release deadline for the film during Christmas in 2022.
The filmmaker had completed recee for his ‘Hatyapuri’ in early April.
In ‘Haytapuri’, Pradosh Chandra Mitter aka Feluda visits Puri for vacation but gets embroiled in investigating a murder that takes place in the coastal town during his stay.
However, the mystery about who will play the role of ‘Feluda’ remains as the director refused to divulge the name.
Ray had said that someone having a combination of athleticism and sharpness in his look would essay the role.
‘Haytapuri’ was first published in children’s magazine ‘Sandesh’.
In his earlier seven Feluda films made between 2003 and 2016, Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Abir Chatterjee brought the sleuth’s character to life.
A Feluda film- ‘Badshahi Angti’ – was produced by SVF.
Ray had merged two Feluda stories ‘Samaddarer Chabi’ and ‘Golokdham Rahasyo’ to make his last Feluda movie ‘Double Feluda’ in 2016, the 50th anniversary of the birth of the fictional character.
From the 35 Feluda stories written by him, Satyajit Ray had directed two films ‘Sonar Kella’ (The Golden Fortress, 1974) and ‘Jai Baba Felunath’ (The Elephant God, 1979).
However, the maestro’s first detective film was ‘Chiriakhana’ (The Zoo, 1967) which was centred on Byomkesh Bakshi, another popular sleuth created by Saradindu Bandyopadhyay.
While Soumitra Chattopadhyay had been cast as Feluda in senior Ray’s films, Uttam Kumar essayed the role of Byomkesh Bakshi.
