Feluda Pherot poster: Refreshing cast suggests promising adaptation

The first look poster of Srijit Mukherji’s upcoming web-series Feluda Pherot looks promising. Featuring Tota Roy Chowdhury as the iconic sleuth, the series is based on two of Satyajit Ray’s most popular Feluda stories, Chhinnamastar Abhishap and Joto Kando Kathmandute. The first season of the 12-episodes series, the trailer for which will be launched on 16 November on the Addatimes OTT platform, is based on the former.

Mukherji’s series is the first-ever direct-to-web adaptation of Ray's immortal detective stories.

Prodosh Mitter aka Feluda was first immortalised on the screen by Soumitra Chatterjee, who is currently fighting for his life due to complications that surfaced after he tested positive for COVID-19, in two films directed by Ray himself.

The legendary filmmaker stopped making Feluda films after Joi Baba Felunath (1979), and his son Sandip Ray took up the reins, creating six cinematic adaptations between 2003 and 2016 featuring Sabyasachi Chakraborty as the detective.

The poster of Feluda Pherot features the titular sleuth pointing a revolver at the viewer as well as his associates, Topse and Lal Mohan Ganguly aka Jatayu. A crouching tiger is also seen, lending a sense of looming danger. A mysterious figure, who appears to be casting a spell, has also been depicted in silhouette in front of a temple. The abundance of red suggests the terrifying form of Devi Chhinnamasta, an avatar of the Goddess Kali.

Feluda Pherot’s casting is not only refreshing but also infuses a youthful charm into the familiar franchise. Newcomer Kalpan Mitra will play Topse while actor and journalist Anirban Chakrabarti will essay the role of Jatayu. In the first season, veteran actor Dhritiman Chatterjee will be playing the major character of retired advocate Mahesh Choudhury while television actor Rishi Kaushik will be seen as Biren Choudhury. Samadarshi Dutta will also be playing an important role.