This is my third recent review of a Bengali whodunit. I am hooked! In this post, we look at another action-packed investigative thriller featuring Shabor Dasgupta, created by author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay and played by Saswata Chatterjee. Subhrajit Dutta and Gaurav Chakrabarty also reprise their roles as Shabor’s sidekicks, SI Nandalal and SI Sanjib. Like the other two Shabor movies, this one too is directed by Arindam Sil.

While plots with the famous Bengali sleuth Byomkesh Bakshi are period films set in Bengal in the days of the Raj, Shabor Dasgupta is a more contemporary police inspector who solves crimes in the city of Kolkata. The plot begins with Shabor and his two sidekicks entrusted with solving the case of three murdered escorts in Kolkata. They find that the last escort who was killed, Sofia, worked for a dating site. They believe that the murders are the work of a serial killer prowling the city.

The plot shifts to focus on Rinku (Diti Saha), a young lady with divorced parents. Rinku is popular, has a handful of friends, but is madly in love with Bijoy (Indraneil Sengupta), an older man despised by Rinku’s parents and her friends.

Rinku lives with her dad, stepmother, and grandmother. Bijoy is their neighbor. Soon, Rinku too is murdered in a similar fashion to the murders of the call girls. She is suffocated by a plastic bag over her head by her attacker.

Rinku’s cycle, a gift from Bijoy on her birthday, is seen outside Bijoy’s house, making the latter the chief suspect in the case. A merciless mob attacks and beats up Bijoy, who is badly injured and almost on the verge of death when the police arrive on the scene, taking him into custody.

Shabor interrogates Bijoy’s estranged wife, who claims to have left him because of his preferences for ‘rough sex’. Shabor’s interrogation of Rinku’s grandmother reveals that she saw a blue car stop near Bijoy’s house on the day of the murder.

Forced by Shabor, Nandalal poses as a John on the dating website, establishes contact, and goes on a date with Uma, another escort, a friend of the late Sofia. However, she too falls victim to the vicious killer. Shabor’s further investigation also reveals a dysfunctional relationship between Rinku’s mother and her boyfriend. How are all these findings related? Shabor and his associates dig further into the investigation and uncover more and more revelations and finally find the culprit. The end of the movie has a powerful message that is very relevant for our times

Saswata Chatterjee plays Shabor in characteristic style. He is ably assisted by the unsophisticated Nandal, played by Subhrajit Dutta. The interactions between them produce a few moments of comic relief in the tense, gripping, and fast-moving plot. Viewers are warned that some themes explored in the movie are not for younger or sensitive viewers. This is another great thriller from Bengali cinema that is certainly worth watching, with a riveting screenplay and good camerawork. All thespians in the film have given fine performances that further accentuate the film. I will soon review the latest movie in the continuing saga of Shabor Dasgupta.