Feluda

Feluda first made his appearance in a Bengali children's magazine called Sandesh in 1965, under the editorialship of Ray and Subhas Mukhopadhyay.

From the sixth story, Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress), the duo are joined by a popular thriller writer Jatayu (Lalmohan Ganguli).

Pradosh Chandra Mitter, popularly known by his nickname Feluda, first appeared in the eponymous Bengali short story Feludar Goyendagiri (Danger in Darjeeling) in 1965.

Despite being a strongly built man adept in martial arts, Feluda relies mostly upon his superb analytical ability and observation skill (jokingly referred to as the Magajastra or brain-weapon) to solve cases instead of using physical strength or weapons.

According to the story 'Royal Bengal Rahasya', The ancestral Home of Feluda was in Sona Dighi Village of Bikrampur Region of Dhaka (Now Munshiganj District).

Similar to Sherlock Holmes, he has a voracious reading habit (reflecting that of Ray's own), which add up to his enormous general knowledge.

He also frequently points out errors and inaccuracies in Jatayu's adventure series, and even helps him write a script for a Bollywood film.

Feluda's paternal cousin Tapesh Ranjan Mitter, who is fondly referred to as Topshe,[4] is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's conception of Dr. John Watson.

Just like the former army surgeon, Topshe is the quintessential accomplice and faithfully records each of Pradosh Mitter's exploits accurately.

In the film adaptation of Sonar Kella, Topshe's mother shows her concern regarding his career and study as he spends much time solving cases with Feluda.

Lalmohan Ganguli is a close friend of Pradosh Chandra Mitter, and is described as the author of a series of Bengali crime thrillers written under the pseudonym 'Jatayu'.

He is an aged character who has described himself to be like Sherlock Holmes's brother Mycroft, living in Sardar Sankar Road, Lake Market, Kalighat, Kolkata.

He also has a minor role in Boshpukery Khunkharapi, where he takes part in a surveillance mission with the rest of Feluda's gang in disguise playing 29 cardgame.

Meghraj is a villainous character who appears in three Feluda stories, including Joi Baba Felunath, Joto Kando Kathmandute, and Golapi Mukta Rahasya.

Utpal Dutta immortalised this character in one Feluda movie Joi Baba Felunath, which Satyajit Ray directed.

His Kolkata house had been raided once but he escaped any charges until Feluda caught him red-handed in smuggling an invaluable Ganesh Murti (an idol of the elephant god) during the case of Joi Baba Felunath.

In the nineteenth book, Jato Kando Kathmandute, Feluda said that he was not at all surprised seeing Meghraj out of jail as that was nothing for such an influential person.

Once again he was arrested in charge of murder and smuggling, yet he averted any long term punishment and we saw him once again in the thirty-first story, Golapi Mukta Rahasya.

Then Sandip Ray directed Badshahi Angti which was released in November 2014, in which Abir Chatterjee is playing Feluda for first time.

The film was directed by Sandip Ray and starred Indraneil Sengupta as Feluda alongside Ayush Das and Abhijit Guha as Topshe and Jatayu respectively.

Indraneil Sengupta, Ayush Das and Abhijit Guha reprise the role of Feluda, Topshe and Jatayu respectively.

Stories adapted were Sheyal Debota Rahasyo, Ghurghutiyar Ghotona, and Golokdham Rahasya and aired on Bioscopelive from September 2017.

In 2020 a streaming television series was made, named ‘Feluda Pherot’ based on the iconic Bengali detective and there will be two popular stories, ‘Chhinnamastar Abhishap’ and 'Joto Kando Kathmandute'.

The second series named Feludar Goyendagiri is also under production from Hoichoi streaming service with the same cast and crew of Feluda Pherot.

The story is centered on Feluda (Parambrata Chattopadhyay) and Topshe (Rwitobroto Mukherjee) who are on a family vacation in Gangtok.

During their trip, they meet Sasadhar Bose who asks Feluda to investigate the sudden and brutal death of his business partner, Selvankar.

As Feluda delves deeper into the case, he suspects foul play and discovers that the key to solving the mystery lies in an ancient artifact called Yamantak, which contains a hidden message.The narrative follows Feluda as he navigates through the complexities of the case, which involves a grieving father, a distant son, and a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the treasure.

The series showcases Feluda in a new light, as he races against time to uncover the true culprit behind the murder and bring justice to the victim.

Later in a collaborative album by HMV Choto Boro Miley (1996) the song was composed and performed by three-legend singer-songwriter Kabir Suman, Nachiketa Chakraborty and Anjan Dutt.

Later many of Bengali songs have references and symbols of Feluda franchise including "Calcium" by Anjan Dutt from the album Purono Guitar (1995).

Feluda is a big admirer of Sherlock Holmes , written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which he mentions multiple times. In Kailash Choudharyr Pathar he praises the way Holmes used to draw large conclusions from observations. In Londone Feluda , when Feluda goes to Baker Street, he openly considers Holmes as the "master" (Bengali: guru ) of all private detectives.
Maganlal Meghraj, as drawn by Satyajit Ray