Doordarshan’s classic show ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’ has become so deeply embedded in the minds of the people that later when we came to know about Sherlock Holmes, we called him ‘English Byomkesh Bakshi’. However, while Sherlock Holmes had arrived on the literary scene in 1887, Byomkesh Babu came in 1932.
There has been a long debate among readers of Indian and foreign literature whether Byomkesh Bakshi is inspired by Sherlock Holmes? However, the answer to this question has mostly been found to be negative. But in this context, it is fun to watch Jio Cinema’s new web series ‘Shekhar Home’. That is because the Desi Bengali version of Sherlock Holmes with a London background actually reminds us of Doordarshan’s serial ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’ and in a very positive way.
‘Shekhar Homes’ was released last week. But as is often the case these days, it often takes time for the audience to reach the point of the matter while being tossed around in the flood of content. But after reaching ‘Shekhar Homes’ in the flood of content arising from Bollywood’s triple clash – ‘Stree 2’ vs ‘Khel Khel Mein’ vs ‘Veda’, we got a fun surprise.
Here another interesting thing comes to mind that where is this sudden love for ghosts with beheaded heads among Hindi cinema people?! While the main villain of ‘Stree 2’ is a beheaded ghost, another beheaded ghost is the villain of one of the 6 stories of ‘Shekhar Home’. Thankfully, both the stories have their minds in order.
Shekhar-Sherlock
Jio Cinema’s show is a Hindi adaptation of the character ‘Sherlock Holmes’ written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his stories. There is probably no need to tell anyone how strong the legacy of Sherlock Holmes and the popularity of his stories is. Therefore, adapting it in Hindi is also a very challenging task. But in ‘Shekhar Home’, Srijit Mukherjee and Aniruddha Guha have done this work in a very interesting way.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that ‘Shekhar Home’ is just going to remind you of the Sherlock stories and present them in an Indian context. Rather, ‘Shekhar Home’ brings the threads of these stories in completely Indian ways, social behavior and style. And it also keeps giving references to the original show in a very playful way. For example, the name of K.K. Menon’s lead character is Shekhar Home, which is a direct reference to Sherlock Holmes. In the beginning, a supporting character also tells Menon that he has not heard such a name in India. But is this the real name of Menon’s character? You will get to know this secret only in the show.
Sherlock’s leading lady’s name was ‘Irene’, in ‘Shekhar Home’ this name is Iravati (Rasika Duggal). Just like Sherlock’s partner was retired army doctor Watson, Shekhar’s partner is retired soldier Jaivrat Saini (Ranvir Shorey). Like Sherlock’s Professor Moriarty, here you will find a villain named ‘M’.
Mrs Hudson from the English Sherlock becomes Mrs H in ‘Shekhar Home’. Like Sherlock’s elder brother Microft, Shekhar’s elder sibling is Mrinmoyee. And the Bengali-European mix of British-era colonial architecture perfectly complements the mysterious London setting, giving our desi minds a local connection.
But still my heart is Hindustani
Hearing all this, you may feel that in an attempt to keep the memory of English Sherlock alive, the Desi show has ended up copying it. But ‘Shekhar Home’ plays this game. A common mistake in writing crime-thriller shows is that the writer puts so much effort in showing his intelligence that he does not realize that his audience has been left behind much earlier. Whereas ‘Shekhar Home’ focuses more on keeping the matter simple and keeping the audience engaged. And in the case of writing, one should always remember that maintaining simplicity is the most difficult task.
In ‘Shekhar Home’, the streets and lanes of Kolkata, the city and the tram… Shekhar’s batik print kurta-shirt and the culture of the characters have a lot of Indian flavour. In this 6-episode series, the pace of the story seems to drop at many places and some of the cases are not as strong as the others. Still, the overall pacing remains crisp and at no point does the matter become so loose that you feel like watching something else.
The vibe of 90s Kolkata, without mobiles, internet and noise of vehicles, and the simple writing are things that remind one of ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’. But Shekhar is no way Byomkesh, he doesn’t have the formal politeness of the Bhadralok. He is rude, stubborn, irritable, restless and a kind of ill-mannered man, on whom you can get angry. He doesn’t have Byomkesh Babu’s quality of sweet talking to solve his case without shaking anyone’s emotions to the core and then proving his point. Hurting a person is the first step in his game. And Shekhar has got this style from his original English partner Sherlock. Watch the trailer of ‘Shekhar Home’ here:
Amazing powerful performance
One of the reasons for being connected to ‘Shekhar Home’ episode after episode is also K.K.Menon’s acting. Years ago, he has reached a level far above where his talent can be discussed. But he has given some very desi expressions to make Sherlock desi. The movement of his neck and eyes, the tilt of the shoulders and the gait have a very Indian texture.
As soon as Shekhar, who was looking casual in kurtas and half shirts, changed his clothes and wore formal pants and shirts… you should understand that in the last 5 episodes, ‘Shekhar Home’ has hidden much more than what it has shown you. The climax of this show is amazing and surprises you many times in 40 minutes and after seeing the final reveal, you will be left speechless.
Ranvir Shorey has also done a great job in the show and is the perfect partner for K.K. Menon. Rasika Dugal is amazing as the alluring, charming female lead in ‘Shekhar Home’. Be careful with her eyes… Kirti Kulhari’s role in the show is very interesting and she fits in perfectly. The supporting actors have the ability to keep the attention. Though some of the action sequences seem a bit loose and a song in between is a bit distracting, the show has enough content to keep the fun going. And yes, Shekhar is also seen in the iconic Sherlock cap in the end!
Overall, ‘Shekhar Home’ is a show that delivers a fun adaptation of Doordarshan’s simple and easy-going style of Byomkesh Bakshi mixed with the thriller style of English Sherlock. You will like its lead character and you will be so attached to the supporting characters that you will want to see more of them in the new seasons.
