It’s been some time since I have written about a web series we enjoy as a family.
Having an impressionable child means you try to screen the content you see on OTTs where the age limits are a little ambiguous. The Bengali web series platform Hoichoi has some interesting options, and I am bringing you 3 options for the weekend and the run-up to the Viswakarma Puja.
- Mr.Kolketa
- The Eken
- Bouma Detective our recent favorite is very enjoyable
These three web series on Hoichoi are not only engaging but also age-appropriate for family viewing. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy some quality time with your loved ones this weekend and during the exciting build-up to Viswakarma Puja!
Mr.Kolketa
This series on Hoichoi has only the first season available now. It takes you on a madcap run around and under Kolkata’s lanes bylanes, markets, and temples. Mr.KalloKallol Datta (Kalke)is a clerk in a municipal office where his desk job fails to hold his interest and he rushes headlong into solving a murder and a missing treasure both of which happened at the museum. Enter Jhelum who is a disgruntled citizen, also the daughter of the prime suspect and together they form an unlikely pair in search of murderers and treasures.
What works
Mr.Kolketa played by Ritwick Chakraborty, Jhelum Sen played by Rajnandini Paul, and Mr.Jimut Basak (Kaushik Sen) play their roles well. My favorite though is Potai(Mr. Potochitra Dutta played by Master Aysuh Mukherjee) the nephew and occasional sidekick who is spontaneous and brings a dose of light-heartedness to sometimes grim situations.
Jhelum is spunky, smart (mostly) can kick well, and is not afraid to call a spade a spade. Plus she looks quintessentially pretty Bengali young lady in her sari avatar.
Mr.Ritwick Chakraborty is a brilliant actor and plays the part of the absent-minded history buff-treasure-hunter well. The entire support cast does their bits with an ease that gives the series its very watchable appearance.
What needs work
They are caught and threatened with bodily harm multiple times and the detective has zero survival skills. He is often beaten up and that’s cringe when he is roaming the underground with a kid.
The potential romance between the obviously much older detective and Jhelum needs a better screenplay to work well. Minor points which they can work on I am sure. Feluda has spoiled us forever and life will never be the same again.
Official synopsis of Mr.Kolketa
The theft of a precious muslin from a museum sends Kolke and Jhelum on a thrilling journey to uncover a mystery through the lens of history and hidden treasure in Kolkata. Take a tour of your familiar city’s unfamiliar alleys in Mr. Kolketa.
Director :
Surajit Chatterjee
Starring :
Ritwick Chakraborty, Rajnandini Paul, Kaushik Sen, Debesh Roychowdhury, Kaushik Chatterjee
Eken Babu
Eken Babu played by Anirban Chakrabarti, is getting better with every season and movie. Unfortunately, the original creator Sujan Dasgupta is no more. The webseries is watchable though the stories and the sidekick remind you of Feluda but in a much watered-down version. Every season the stories get a little more interesting and in the movie “The Eken Ruddhaswas Rajasthan”Anirban Chakrabarti is at his best. His happy-go-lucky character hides a sharp brain and his appearance is deceptive.
In the movie, he has a few action scenes and does a good job of making them believable. He is nothing like the quintessential detective hero we are used to and currently, that is what seems to be trending on OTT platforms. My favorite is The Eken: Ruddhaswas Rajasthan
What works:
Anirban Chakrabarti is a good actor and his mixing up of Bengali proverbs will make you laugh. He is in his element playing the absent-minded Bangali Babu who loves eating and rarely notices anything.
What needs work:
His side kicks change occasionally from the series to the movie and that gets confusing at times. With the creator’s demise, we need to see what happens next with the character
The official synopsis of Eken Babu
Eken Babu
Detective Comedy
6 Seasons
Eken Babu is not your average, middle-aged Bengali man. He is Ekendra Sen, a detective extraordinaire who effortlessly cracks complex cases in his own quirky style. And wherever a mystery takes him, he is accompanied by his friends, Bapi and Pramatha.
Director :
Anirban Mallik, Anupam Hari, Abhijit Chowdhury, Surajit Chatterjee, Joydeep Mukherjee
Starring :
Anirban Chakrabarti, Shoumo Banerjee, Debapriyo Bagchi, Suhotra Mukhopadhyay, Somak Ghosh
The Eken
Set in Darjeeling, this is the first movie and Eken Babu with his team is on the search for the murderer, a missing idol. A beautiful film star makes for a twist in the tale.
The Eken: Ruddhaswas Rajasthan
Detective Comedy
Eken finds himself embroiled in an antique smuggling mystery while vacationing in Rajasthan with Bapi and Pramatha. What happens when the situation gets out of hand after finding fake artifacts at the Jaisalmer Museum?
Writers: Padmanabha Dasgupta, Sujan Dasgupta
Director: Joydeep Mukherjee
Starring: Anirban Chakrabarti, Suhotra Mukhopadhyay, Somak Ghosh, Sandipta Sen, Rajatava Dutta, Rajesh Sharma
Bouma Detective
Currently watching and very enjoyable. Played by Aparajita Addha as Bouma detective and Ronit Roy her actor husband.
The very beautiful Aparajita Addha brings her A game to the table and it’s on her very capable shoulders that the series rests. Rono her husband, the superstar reel life hero(real-life horrible person)playboy played by Ronit Roy is the kind of man no real woman would like and he plays the mean, husband to a T . The kind who doesn’t admit he is married.( Remember a chocolate image superstar who did something similar?)
Anyway, he is the prime suspect in the unexpected death of his heroine in the middle of an intimate scene. His wife the much abused, much-ignored wife sets out to become a Miss (Mrs. Marple) with the hero’s assistant as a sidekick to save the screen hero from a life behind bars.
What works?
Ms. Aparajita is fantastic as the little wife at home who has let herself go to seed is very uninspiring and very much Biwi-number-one-ish.But that probably gives her the larger-than-life image because no woman should tolerate what she is doing(something like a former US first lady if you know what I mean).
Atanu the faithful Ronojoy assistant decided to help her solve the mystery
Cons
The Ronit Roy backstory needed a reason. Why in this day and age his entire family supports his need for a father-of-two to pretend to be a bachelor is anyone’s guess.
The heroines are shown in a horrible light. Apparently, no one bags a project without unfair means. That’s horrible even when it’s fiction. Some scenes are cringe and you will need to skip them if watching with a kid. The plot has several holes but don’t look for logic.
Official Synopsis
Simple homemaker Rohini decides to take on the role of a detective after her superstar husband Ranojay is accused of murdering his co-actor.
Stars
Rohit RoyAparajita AdhyaUtsav Sarkar
Other Webseries I like The Good Doctor,NCIS,Person of Interest on Amazon Prime .
