New Delhi: Sushant Singh Rajput has joined the long list of people, who have portrayed Byomkesh Bakshi on-screen, but the actor says his upcoming movie is director Dibakar Banerjee's personal take on the famous fictional detective from Bengali literature.
'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!' is based on the stories by writer Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. The 29-year-old actor said even though he may be the 75th Byomkesh, he never had any doubts about the project because it is a complete new take on the sleuth.
"There are so many TV shows and films about Byomkesh... I am probably the 75th Byomkesh. So, we have the essence of the story in our film but it is a very personal take of Dibakar. Even though it is something that has been done so many times and in different ways, I never had an iota of doubt with Dibakar and Yash Raj on board," Sushant told PTI during his visit here.
Playing a character from the 1940's was not easy for the actor, who said that initially he had difficulties grappling with the nuances and mannerisms of Byomkesh.
"The character was in a way very distant from who I thought I was at that point of time. So, convincing myself to be Byomkesh was challenging for me. I had an idea of my own personality and got a hang of the character when I spoke to Dibakar," he said.
Sushant will be seen in a complete Bengali babu avatar in the film donning dhotis, kurtas and commuting in trams and hand-pulled rickshaws. The actor said that the 'Bengaliness' of his role is limited to the dressing and mannerisms as he will not be mouthing any Bengali dialogues.
"I have done everything Bengali apart from speaking the language. I have done the mannerisms, the mindset, the food the dhotis. But you will not see me dropping Bengali words in between my sentences in the movie," the actor said.
Dibakar said for him and producer Aditya Chopra, Sushant was always the first choice for the movie, which may have sequels.
"We needed a young rising star who was a heartthrob. We were looking for a youthful and absolutely different Byomkesh, someone who was just out of college, arrogant but full of innocence. He is a man of contrasts and at the same time has a fantastic intellect," Dibakar said.
The director, however, said that he has taken the star quotient out of Sushant. "This film does not have a love story, typical action scenes. We have removed Sushant's star power, his dancing and romance. He had to begin from scratch.
"For this role, we wanted someone who has an understated and nuanced style of acting, not in your face, Bollywood style of acting. Sushant has that vulnerability, intelligence and arrogance," Dibakar added.
'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!' also stars Anand Tiwari and Swastika Mukherjee in principal roles. The movie, produced by Dibakar Banerjee Productions and Yash Raj Films, is set to release on April 3.
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