Kalkiyug is a howdunit, not a whodunit

After Hoi Choi, a comedy , Debarati Gupta's next is a thriller: Kalkiyug starring Debshankar Halder and Bratya Basu.
When a two-year-old murder mystery is brought to Lalbazar's notice, ACP Dilip Dutta finds uncanny similarities between the crime and a thriller penned by Sankarshan Gupta. But, is the similarity between a book and a gruesome murder enough to convict the writer? Will it be possible for the ACP to prove Sankarshan's involvement? The film also stars Locket Chatterjee, Rimjhim Gupta and Sourav Chakraborty .
Producer Pradip Churiwal of Macneil Media says, "Thrillers are of great interest. Both Bratya and Debshankar have done a stellar job."
Here's what the director and the actors had to say:
Debarati: Thrillers always engage the audience like no other, be it Byomkesh, Feludaor Shabor. But my film is not based on literature. In Kalkiyug, both the protagonist and the antagonist are creations of my scriptwriter Ranajay Banerjee. ACP Dutta, played by Bratyada, is by Bratyada, is sanguine that Sankarshan (Debshankar) is the murderer. It turns into a personal vendetta for the ACP against the writerpainter. It is not a whodunit, but a howdunit.
On Bratya: Bratyada is a powerful actor. In Kalkiyug, he has showed a very controlled performance. It was a film called Sthaniyo Sangbaad (2010), which made me realize that Bratyada could be explored for such a character.
On Debshankar: As soon as I fixed Bratyada for the ACP's character, I knew I needed an equally talented actor to match him on screen. Debshankarda has always played the quintessential 'bhalomanush' in films. Here, he essays a snobbish, flamboyant character.
Bratya: I play a very low-key person with a muted presence. But when Sankarshan personally challenges him to indict him in the murder, it brings out the brilliant detective in him. Frankly , the fact that I have come in close contact with the entire bureaucracy , helped me play this character with conviction.
Debshankar: Sankarshan was a brilliant student. He decided to be a painter, when he could have well been a research scholar or an academic. There are multiple personalities inside him and he knows which situation demands which personality to surface. There is also a sadistic streak in him that gives him a perverse pleasure out of getting himself in trouble and testing his own abilities to come out of them unscathed.The way Debarati planned the film, right to the minutest detail, made it a wonderful experience to work with her.
Kalkiyug, produced by Macneill Media Pvt Ltd., releases today.