Srijit Mukherji and Rohan Sippy Bring Sherlock Holmes to West Bengal with Kay Kay Menon's "Shekhar Home" Show

Sept. 6, 2024, 12:30 a.m.

Read time estimation: 7 minutes.

  4

Director Srijit Mukerji reveals that he encountered resistance from the producers of “Shekhar Home”, a detective series inspired by the literary works of Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle. Mukerji insisted on setting the series in West Bengal, challenging the trend of Indian web content dominated by narratives from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Mukerji said the BBC had approached him to direct an Indian adaptation of one of their shows but he refused as the filmmaker is ’not a fan of remakes'.

Advertisement He instead proposed “Shekhar Home” to the British broadcaster as a possible adaptation of “Sherlock Holmes” within an Indian context.

“I envisioned ‘Shekhar Home’ around 2018-19. The BBC proposed a series to me. Instead of accepting that, I presented ‘Shekhar Home’ to them,” Mukerji shared in an interview with PTI.

Pointing to “The Family Man 2” as an example, the showrunner argued that if viewers can appreciate parts of the series in Tamil, there’s no reason a nationwide Indian show can’t be set in West Bengal.

“Sadly, the web series landscape in India is often dominated by stories from UP and parts of Bihar. I wanted to highlight the richness and diversity of India beyond these regions. In fact, I had to push back against the producers, who were hesitant about the show becoming too strongly rooted in Bengali culture.

“I argued that as long as it didn't appear too Punjabi, UP, or Bihari, it could still resonate with a pan-Indian audience. Even if the show leans into Bengali elements, Bengal's identity as part of India ensures its potential for a broader reach,” he reasoned.

Bengali literature already boasts of popular detective characters like Satyajit Ray’s Feluda and Byomkesh Bakshi by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay which have been adapted for the screen across various languages, ages and mediums.

So, why adapt Sherlock for India? Mukerji — a distinguished figure in Bengali cinema with films like “Chotushkone” and “Baishe Srabon” to his credit — said he's a lifelong fan of Conan Doyle and also loved the 2010 BBC adaptation, which propelled Benedict Cumberbatch to international fame.

Advertisement Another benefit was that they faced minimal challenges in securing the rights to the British author’s original works.

“The best part was that all the Sherlock Holmes stories were in the public domain, so we didn’t have to spend much on acquiring rights. That was a major advantage,” said the National Award winner, who directed the first four episodes of the show.

Written by Aniruddha Guha and Niharika Puri with dialogues by Vaibhav Vishal, “Shekhar Home” features Kay Kay Menon as the titular detective. The six-part series, available on JioCinema, is co-directed by Rohan Sippy.

Sippy, known for his roles in films like “Bluffmaster” and the two seasons of “Criminal Justice” Indian adaptation, said he enjoyed joining the show in the second part of its journey.

Advertisement “My main role was to direct the final two episodes… Credit goes to the original creators, the BBC, Voot, and Aniruddha and Srijit, they are the ones who laid the groundwork… In that sense, it was just fun to take this on and find that right balance, making it Indian while still honoring the spirit of Arthur Conan Doyle, keeping it connected to both the author and making it feel authentic in an Indian setting,” he added.

Sippy explained that being part of “Shekhar Home” was similar to playing in a band, where you have to acknowledge the existing work while also striving to bring your own unique interpretation to the musical composition.

Advertisement “You have the freedom to do whatever you want, but sometimes the most interesting moments come when you face limitations and still find a way to make your mark.” In the Indian rendition, Sherlock Holmes becomes Shekhar Home, Dr John Watson becomes Dr Jayvrat Sahni (Ranvir Shorey), Irene Adler becomes Iraboty Adhyo (Rasika Dugal), Mycroft Holmes becomes Mrinmoy Home (Kaushik Sen), and Inspector Lestrade becomes Inspector Laha (Rudranil Ghosh).

It's set in a fictional, peaceful town named Lonpur, a clever blend of London, where the original Sherlock resides, and Bolpur, a city in West Bengal, where much of the Hindi series was filmed.

Viewers also get to engage in their own detective work, tracing the origins of certain Hindi adaptations. Episode four is titled “Bhaskarvilla”, a play on Conan Doyle's another Holmes novel “The Hound of the Baskervilles”.

While Sherlock is depicted as a pipe-smoking, deerstalker-wearing violinist, Shekhar embraces a distinctive Bengali style, sporting vibrant Batik kurtas and playing the rabab, another stringed instrument. Interestingly, both the deerstalker cap and pipe make a brief appearance in the Hindi version.

“Initially, we considered the esraj (musical instrument), but its sound felt too somber. The rabab, with its intriguing melody, aligned perfectly with the show's theme. Our goal was to strategically weave clues throughout the narrative, each element acting like a piece of a puzzle, ultimately revealing a coherent picture,” Mukerji explained.

However, the path to realizing his vision wasn’t without obstacles. Recognizing the crucial role of technology in detective work, Mukerji knew they had to carefully portray “Shekhar Home” within a specific historical context.

"I needed to set the story in a quiet, small town to make the investigative methods available to Shekhar more basic. This would allow us to emphasize his psychological and mental deduction rather than relying on more scientific or technical approaches." This is where the 1990s proved to be the perfect setting.

"Initially, I envisioned two eras: the 1970s and the 1990s. After collaborating with Ani (Guha) on this, we realized that the 1970s had been depicted extensively, especially after 'Jubilee', which showcased the 1950s quite a bit. We thought the 1990s was a decade that hadn't been explored thoroughly in the Indian web space." Both Sippy and Mukerji are open to a second season.

"Every time I see someone from the team, I can't help but ask when season two is starting. The casting was spot-on for a character-driven series. The show is designed in a way that allows for multiple seasons," Sippy remarked.

Mukerji mentioned that if they get the opportunity for a second season, he'd love to adapt some of his personal favorite Conan Doyle stories like "The Speckled Band", "Man with a Twisted Lip", and "The Blue Carbuncle".

"With the audience's enthusiastic response, we're planning to create six more episodes. The challenge of having an incredibly talented cast is that everyone is busy. I'm hoping our schedules align," he added.

“Shekhar Home” is produced by BBC Studios Productions India.