After 4 decades of Mukul's adventure, Kushal returns to Sonar Kella

He was just six when Kushal Chakraborty met Satyajit Ray at Gorer Math (Maidan). One look at the boy, and the filmmaker knew that he wanted him for the Feluda film he was making then. Sonar Kella happened and the rest is history. Forty years later, Kushal, aka Mukul from the film, returns home, amidst a lot of fanfare. What brings him back is a docu film on the lovable Bengali detective, Feluda ��� A Sleuth Story.
Kushal remembers that he stayed put in Jaisalmer for about a month during the film���s shooting. He can still identify all the locations. ���In fact, when tourist guides were taking us to the shooting locations, I could say, ���No, this was not it���. I didn���t even know who Satyajit Ray was and clinically did the scenes as per his instructions,��� recalls Kushal.
Sandip Ray too was in his early 20s when the film happened. Back then, he was not even an assistant director but made a name for being a still photographer within the unit. Now accompanying docu director Sagnik Chatterjee and Kushal on this trip, he is happy about the reception the team has received. ���It���s overwhelming. Wherever we go, people are talking to us about the movie. Almost every hotel has a framed photograph of Baba. People look up to him as god and many think the town should have his statue or a street in his name,��� says Sandip.
So, how much has Jaisalmer changed over the years? ���The place where the shoot happened was in ruins. Now, not only is the fort called sone ka quila, various livelihoods have come up surrounding it. The film has had a magical impact on Jaisalmer and its people,��� says Sandip, who has to his credit many Feluda films.
Sagnik, who shot the climax with Sandip and Kushal in The Golden City, is no less excited, ���Jaisalmer had no connection with Bengal before Sonar Kella happened. Now sitting here, I can eat maachh-bhaat. The entire ambience is that of a Bengali household. I was talking to shop owners and they said the land that would once cost Rs 300, is now priced at Rs 1 crore. In fact, no one knew that crockery could be made of limestone before the film happened. We revisited all those spots where Satyajit Ray had shot the film. We went to the Jodhpur Circuit House and Lathi station, among many other places. Both Kushal and Babuda (Sandip Ray) represent Feluda in my documentary; they have very important roles to play.���
The docu film will be a tribute to Feluda on his 50th anniversary this year. ���It���s just plain coincidence,��� says Sagnik. Notably, Feluda���s journey began in 1965 with a novella set in Darjeeling. Since then, life has never been the same for thriller-loving Bengalis.