Sonar Kella

Last updated

Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress)
Sonar Kella book front cover.jpg
First edition
Author Satyajit Ray
Cover artistSatyajit Ray
LanguageBengali
Genre Detective fiction
Publisher Ananda Publishers
Publication date
1971
Publication placeIndia
Media typePrint
Preceded by Gangtokey Gondogol  
Followed by Baksho Rahashya  

Sonar Kella, also Shonar Kella, is a 1971 mystery novel written by Bengali writer and filmmaker Satyajit Ray. [1] [2] In 1974, Ray directed a film adaption of the book, also named Sonar Kella, starring Soumitra Chatterjee, Santosh Dutta, Siddartha Chatterjee and Kushal Chakraborty. [2] [3] The movie was released in the United States as The Golden Fortress. It is the first film adaptation of Ray's famous sleuth Feluda and was followed by Joi Baba Felunath, in English The Elephant God.

Contents

Sonar Kella
Dvd sonar kella ray.jpg
DVD cover art
Directed by Satyajit Ray
Written bySatyajit Ray
Produced byGovernment of West Bengal
Starring Soumitra Chatterjee,
Santosh Dutta,
Siddartha Chatterjee,
Kushal Chakraborty
Music byFeluda Theme by Satyajit Ray
Release date
  • 27 December 1974 (1974-12-27)
CountryIndia
LanguageBengali
BudgetRs 12 lakh
Box officeRs 75 lakh

Plot

The film begins with a school-boy Mukul Dhar (Kushal Chakraborty), who is said to be able to remember events of his previous life, and soon receives media attention. Dr. Hemanga Hajra (Sailen Mukherjee), a parapsychologist, offers his help, believing it might help him in his own research. Mukul always remains sombre and paints peacocks, forts, camels and battlescenes at midnight; he mentions that he lived in the Golden Fortress (Sonar Kella) and that their house had many gems. Dr. Hajra decides to take Mukul on a trip to Rajasthan, famous for forts, historical importance and desert landscape. Two seasoned fraudsters, Amiyanath Burman and Mandar Bose, plan to kidnap Mukul to capture the treasure. Their first attempt at the kidnapping fails when they pick up another boy, also named Mukul (Santanu Bagchi), from the same neighborhood. Alarmed by this, Mukul's father engages Pradosh Chandra Mitter a.k.a. Feluda (Soumitra Chatterjee), a private investigator, to protect his son. Feluda leaves for Rajasthan along with his cousin Tapesh a.k.a Topshe (Siddartha Chatterjee), following Dr. Hajra. On their way, they meet and befriend Lalmohan Ganguly, a.k.a. Jatayu (Santosh Dutta), a popular thriller writer.

Meanwhile, Burman and Bose kidnap Mukul and push Dr. Hajra off a cliff to his presumed death at the Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur. Burman impersonates as Dr. Hajra and Bose impersonates as a globe-trotter. Dr. Hajra actually survives the fall and begins to pursue them. Feluda along with Topshe arrives in Jodhpur Circuit House and meets Burman, assuming him to be Dr. Hajra. Feluda begins to suspect Bose based on his clothes and his accent. Feluda even suspects "Dr. Hajra's" conduct as he appears lackadaisical in his approach. Mukul keeps saying he is followed by a "bad man". After visiting a few fortresses, Burman successfully hypnotizes Mukul, who reveals that the Golden Fortress is in Jaisalmer. Dr. Hajra reaches to the same conclusion by learning about the history of the Fort of Jaisalmer from a police inspector. Feluda learns that the Jaisalmer Fort is made of yellow limestone, giving it a golden glow. Burman leaves for Jaisalmer with Mukul immediately instructing Bose to follow suit after misguiding Feluda and others.

Bose lies to Feluda by saying that Burman/Dr. Hajra has already left with Mukul for Barmer, in order to lead him on the wrong track. Feluda suspects foul play but cannot be sure. By chance, his eye falls upon the card of Dr. Hajra; an idea flashes in his mind and he rushes to check the register of the circuit house and finds that it is signed as 'Hazra' not 'Hajra'. He is now sure about the man impersonating as Dr Hajra, and leaves for Jaisalmer by car.

While on their way to railway station, Bose strands the trio (Feluda, Topshe, and Jatayu) on the highway by pucturing the tyre of their car. Undaunted, Feluda and his team takes a camel caravan to the nearest train station Ramdevra, from which he boards on the next train to Jaisalmer. At night, in the train, Bose attacks and attempts to stab Feluda to death, who anticipates the attack and nearly captures him. After a scuffle, Bose escapes to another compartment of the train. However, moments later, Bose falls out of the train after seeing the real Dr. Hajra in the other compartment and assuming him to be a ghost.

The trio arrive in Jaisalmer along with Dr. Hajra. They rush to the fort where they find Burman searching for the treasure where Mukul recalls his home of previous life. Feluda confronts and captures Burman, telling him that there never was any treasure. They find that Mukul is cured of his obsession of previous life, and they return to Kolkata. This is where the movie ends.

Characters

Cast

Crew

Awards

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feluda</span> Bengali fictional detective created by the Indian film director, Satyajit Ray (1921–1992)

Feluda is a fictional detective, private investigator created by Indian director and writer Satyajit Ray. Feluda resides at 21 Rajani Sen Road, Ballygunge, Calcutta, West Bengal, India. Feluda first made his appearance in a Bengali children's magazine called Sandesh in 1965, under the editorialship of Ray and Subhas Mukhopadhyay. His first adventure was Feludar Goendagiri. Feluda is one of the most impactful Bengali characters of all time.

<i>Joi Baba Felunath</i> (film) 1979 Indian Bengali mystery film by Satyajit Ray

Joi Baba Felunath is a 1979 Indian Bengali-language mystery film directed and written by Satyajit Ray. Featuring an ensemble cast of Soumitra Chatterjee, Santosh Dutta, Siddartha Chatterjee, Utpal Dutt amongst others, it is an adaption of the eponymous Feluda novel and serves as the sequel of Sonar Kella. Shortly after the demise of actor Santosh Dutta who portrayed Jatayu's role, Ray remarked that it was impossible to ever make a Feluda film again without Dutta.

<i>Bombaiyer Bombete</i> (film) 2003 film by Sandip Ray

Bombaiyer Bombete is a 2003 Indian Bengali thriller film directed by Sandip Ray and based on the story of the same name by his father Satyajit Ray. It was the third big screen adaptation of the fictional detective character Feluda after 25 years of the second Feluda movie Joi Baba Felunath (1979), which was directed by Satyajit Ray. It was the first big screen adaptation of the Feluda new film series though Sabyasachi played Feluda in all the ten TV films of Feluda TV film series (1996-2000) directed by Sandip Ray. The movie was a sequel to the Doctor Munshir Diary, the last television film of Feluda TV film series (1996-2000), which was a sequel series to the Satyajit Ray's Feluda film series (1974-1979).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lalmohan Ganguly</span> Fictional character

Lalmohan Ganguly, alias Jatayu is a fictional character in the Feluda stories written by Satyajit Ray. He writes pulp crime thrillers, but is quite weak and nervous in real life. He is fairly wealthy due to the immense sales of his books. He writes at a frequency of two books a year. His crime fiction stories have interesting and catchy names, often characterised by alliterations like 'Sahara-ey Shiharan', 'Honduras-e Hahakar', 'Borneo-r Bibhishika', 'Durdharsh Dushman', 'Vancouver-er Vampire', 'Himalaye Hritkampo', 'Atlantic-er Atanka', 'Anobik Danob', 'Naroker Naam Karakoram', 'Bidghute Bodmash', 'Arokto Arab' etc. The names of several Feluda stories also exhibit this feature, for example Joto Kando Kathmandute, Gangtokey Gondogol, Royal Bengal Rahasya, Robertsoner Ruby, Gosainpur Sargaram, Bombaiyer Bombete, Gorosthane Sabdhan, Kailashey Kelenkari, Bhuswargo Bhayankar, etc. The detective of Jatayu's novel, Prakhar Rudra, is a character with incredible intellect and power. Lalmohan's grandfather gave his name "Sarbogya Gongopadhyay" but Lalmohan does not use that name.

<i>Gangtokey Gondogol</i> Feluda series short novel written by Satyajit Roy

Gangtokey Gondogol is a short novel by Satyajit Ray featuring the private detective Feluda. This story was first published in the Desh magazine in 1970 and then published in book form in 1971 by Ananda Publishers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santosh Dutta</span> Indian actor (1925–1988)

Santosh Dutta was a Bengali actor, best known for playing the character of Jatayu in Satyajit Ray's Feluda movie series Sonar Kella and Joi Baba Felunath.

<i>Baksho Rahashya</i> (novel) Book by Satyajit Ray

Bakso Rahashya is a Bengali novel by Satyajit Ray featuring the private detective Feluda. This novel was first serialized in Desh magazine in 1972 and then released in book form in 1973, by Ananda publishers.

<i>Hatyapuri</i> 1979 novel by Satyajit Ray

Hatyapuri is a crime novel by Satyajit Ray. It gets its title from Puri, a city located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal which is a popular tourist attraction in East India. It was first serialized in the Sandesh magazine in 1979 and released in book form in the same year by Ananda Publishers.

<i>Kailashey Kelenkari</i> (film) 2007 film by Sandip Ray

Kailashey Kelenkari is an Indian Bengali thriller film directed by Sandip Ray based on the novel of the same name by Satyajit Ray. The film was released on 21 December 2007. Satyajit Ray visited the famous Ellora Caves near Aurangabad around 1940−41. Ray was so fascinated with the beauty of the Kailash Temple and the caves that he was inspired by it when he penned his crime thriller Kailashe Kelenkari. It is the second film of the New Feluda franchise as well as the sequel of Bombaiyer Bombete.

<i>Chhinnamastar Abhishap</i> 1977 novel by Satyajit Ray

Chhinnamastar Abhishap is a Bengali novel by Satyajit Ray featuring private detective Feluda. It was first serialized in Desh magazine in 1978, and then released in book form in 1981 by Ananda Publishers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabyasachi Chakrabarty</span> Indian Bengali actor

Sabyasachi Chakrabarty is an Indian actor of theatre, films and television. He is best known for portraying iconic Bengali detective characters, Feluda, and Kakababu.

<i>Baksho Rahashya</i> (film) 1996 Indian TV series or programme

Baksho Rahashya is a 1996 Bengali mystery-thriller film directed by Sandip Ray and based on the story of the same name by Satyajit Ray. It was the first telefilm made for Feluda 30, the TV film series, which aired on DD Bangla. Later it was released at Nandan Complex and the DVD and VCD were released in 2001. The film is the sequel to Joy Baba Felunath (1979).

<i>Royal Bengal Rahashya</i> (film) 2011 film by Sandip Ray

Royal Bengal Rahashya, The Royal Bengal Mystery, is a 2011 Indian Bengali thriller film directed by Sandip Ray based on the novel of the same name by Satyajit Ray. The film was released on 23 December 2011. It was the fifth big screen Feluda adaptation of Sandip Ray in the Feluda new film series and was the sequel to Gorosthaney Sabdhan. After the demise of Bibhu Bhattacharya (Jatayu), Sabyasachi Chakrabarty declared that he would not be playing Feluda anymore. Thus, director Sandip Ray decided to reboot the series, Badshahi Angti, the first installment of which starring Abir Chatterjee as Feluda and Sourav Das as Topshe was released on 19 December 2014. But the reboot series was cancelled by Sandip Ray in March, 2016. He revealed instead of continuing the reboot series he will continue the previous Feluda film series and he will make a sequel of this movie named Double Feluda which is heading to a Christmas release in December, 2016. The movie will be a tribute to 50 years of Feluda. For the new film Sabyasachi Chakrabarty will return as Feluda and Saheb Bhattacharya as Topshe after five years.

Feluda is an Indian-Bengali detective media franchise created by Indian-Bengali film director and writer Satyajit Ray, featuring the character, Feluda. The titular character is a private investigator starring in a series of Bengali novels and short stories. The detective resides at 21 Rajani Sen Road, Ballygunge, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Feluda first made his appearance in a Bengali children's magazine called Sandesh (সন্দেশ) in 1965, under the editorialship of Satyajit and Subhas Mukhopadhyay. His first adventure was Feludar Goendagiri.

<i>Badshahi Angti</i> (film) 2014 film by Sandip Ray

Badshahi Angti is a 2014 Indian Bengali-language thriller film directed by Sandip Ray, based on the novel of the same name by Satyajit Ray, starring Abir Chatterjee and Sourav Das as Feluda and Topse respectively. The film was released on 19 December 2014. It is the first film which stars Abir Chatterjee as Feluda. This was going to be a reboot to previous Feluda film series after Royal Bengal Rahashya. But in 2016 Sandip Ray cancelled the reboot series because Abir Chatterjee started a new version of film series based on Byomkesh Bakshi franchise under Shree Venkatesh Films and Surinder Films. The other reason was the new Feluda movie Sandip Ray intended to make under a Mumbai-based production house Eros International, but Abir has a strict contract with Shree Venkatesh Films and Surinder Films.

<i>Double Feluda</i> 2016 film directed by Sandip Ray

Double Feluda is a 2016 Bengali language crime thriller detective film, based on the Bengali sleuth Feluda, created by the acclaimed and renowned Oscar-winning director Satyajit Ray. It is the 19th film in the Feluda series. Directed by his son Sandip Ray, the film marks the comeback of both Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Saheb Bhattacharya, with the former returning to the eponymous role of Feluda and the latter playing his sidekick. This is a sequel of Royal Bengal Rahashya (2011). The film was released on 16 December 2016 to mark the 50th anniversary of the iconic creation. The film is based on two Feluda stories - Samaddarer Chabi and Golokdham Rahasya.

Kamu Mukherjee was a Bengali actor, best known for his role as Mandar Bose in Sonar Kella and Harun-al-Rashid in Sandip Ray's first film Phatik Chand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soumitra Chatterjee filmography</span>

Soumitra Chatterjee or Soumitra Chattopadhyay was an Indian film and stage actor and poet. He is best known for his collaborations with Oscar-winning film director Satyajit Ray, with whom he worked in fourteen films, and his constant comparison with the Bengali cinema screen idol Uttam Kumar, his contemporary leading man of the 1960s and 1970s. Soumitra Chatterjee is also the first Indian film personality to be conferred with the Commandeur de l’ Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France's highest award for artists. He is also the winner of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award which is India's highest award for cinema. In 2017 exactly thirty years after auteur Satyajit Ray was honoured with France's highest civilian award, the coveted Legion of Honor, thespian Soumitra Chatterjee, arguably, the most prominent face of Ray's films, also received the award.

Feludar Goyendagiri is an Indian streaming television series, directed by Srijit Mukherji. It is based on the stories of the Bengali sleuth Feluda, written by Satyajit Ray. Originally known as Feluda Pherot and streaming on Addatimes, the show began streaming on Hoichoi from 17 June 2022.

<i>Nayan Rahasya</i> 2024 Bengali film

Nayan Rahasya is the 2024 Bengali mystery thriller film directed by Sandip Ray based on the same name novel of Feluda series by Satyajit Ray. The film is the sequel of 2022 Feluda film Hatyapuri and the second film of the second reboot of the film series. This film was released on 10 May 2024 under the banner of Surinder Films.

References

  1. ↑ Pinaki Roy (1 January 2008). The Manichean Investigators: A Postcolonial and Cultural Rereading of the Sherlock Holmes and Byomkesh Bakshi Stories. Sarup & Sons. pp. 111–. ISBN   978-81-7625-849-4 . Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 Andrew Robinson (17 March 1992). Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye. University of California Press. pp. 359–. ISBN   978-0-520-06946-6 . Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  3. ↑ Chatterjee, Soumitra (16 November 2020). "Fun, camels and greed control: Soumitra Chatterjee recalls the shoot of Satyajit Ray's 'Sonar Kella'". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 1 January 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  4. ↑ The Golden Fortress (1974) - IMDb, archived from the original on 6 April 2018, retrieved 23 September 2019



This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.