Very few screen detectives that Eken Babu does. With his trademark quirk, unassuming intellect, and unyielding love for food, actor Anirban Chakrabarti has brought writer Sujan Dasgupta’s beloved sleuth to life across multiple seasons and hit feature films. Now, director Joydeep Mukherjee takes the eccentric detective to God’s Own Country in Eken: Kerala-e-Kurukshetra. Excerpts from a chat with Anirban and Joydeep:
What can the audience expect from the Eken: Kerala-e-Kurukshetra?
Joydeep: Definitely the beautiful Kerala, and how a Bengali story is set in a southern state. Secondly, of course, the story, Eken Babu, and his idiosyncrasies, the chill and thrilling elements and finally, a lot of food. In short, the film is a package comprising everything that Bengalis love and can’t do without, especially during the festive season.
How was shooting for this new project different from the previous ones?
Anirban: Different in the sense that it is set in a completely new location, and unlike any other show or film, this is a continuation of Eken Babu: Purulia-E-Pakrao, where at the end, we find Eken is kidnapped. The film picks up immediately from this point, and the audience will figure out who kidnapped him or why he was kidnapped.
So, didn’t you think of making it into a sequel to the previous season, instead of making it a film?
Joydeep: No, we have planned it. See, if I want to explore something grandly, it is always the mode of cinema. Because as a director, it is the big screens where we get the privilege to show something big, to entertain people. I still think, for any director, showcasing your craft on the big screen is always the most awaited.
If you talk about this one particularly, this story and screenplay is much more complicated and layered than any other Eken story, so I felt that people would love to watch it at the theatres.
It has been so many years; how challenging is it to carry a franchise like two pillars? And every time you bring a story, does the fear remain the same if the audience would like it or not?
Joydeep: I don’t believe that we are the only two pillars. I think the screenplay and dialogues by Padmanabha Dasgupta and the original stories by Sujan Dasgupta are the two other pillars. There are many others too who give their valuable inputs to make it a better watch.
Yes, there always remains a challenge. I try to make sure that this story doesn’t look or sound anything like the previous one, and I try my best so that the audience forgets the previous shows after watching this.
Anirban: If you are playing one character repeatedly, you have to be extra cautious to keep it alive. It should look and sound similar so that there is continuity, and for the audience it is the same character but with a few new elements. And that is my responsibility as an actor, especially if it’s a franchise, to make sure that the new film outshines the previous films.
Over the years, Anirban Chakrabarti has kind of become synonymous with Eken Babu. Isn’t it?
Joydeep: Not for me, or for anyone who knows Anirban personally. I know how different he is from Eken and what Eken can do and what Anirban cannot. So, I don’t mix them up.
And as an actor, is it a bane or boon?
Anirban: I know people who call me Eken, even though they know my real name. And I absolutely don’t mind. That is a show of love, of affection, because they have loved my character so much.
Joydeep: And one thing that I would like to add is that this can be an inspiration for many actors. A man who has been so consistent in becoming a character that he is synonymous with it is so appreciable.
Anirban: Also, the kind of characteristics that Eken portrays, people like to believe that I am like that. Eken can’t live without mutton; I do not eat it at all, and when people come to know this, they are really surprised. That Eken is an extrovert, and I am someone who feels shy even when there are too many people in a gathering; some are a little too disappointed as well when they find out that I am nothing like Eken.
But even after all this, being Eken had never been a curse for me. I have been constantly offered roles, very different to Eken, and one another, and the audience has accepted me in these roles.
The Eken: Kerala-e- Kurukshetra hits screens on October 15.
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