Six
episodes
are
not
enough,
applauds
Deepa
Gahlot.
Sherlock
Holmes
is
reportedly
the
most
portrayed
fictional
character
in
films
and
television,
and
the
appeal
of
the
eccentric
pipe-smoking,
violin-playing
‘consulting
detective’
just
never
goes
away.
Bengali
literature
has
its
own
canon
of
detectives
—
who
hasn’t
heard
of
Feluda?
—
so
the
mix
of
the
two
creates
the
new
Web
series,
with
the
odd
title
of
Shekhar
Home.
It
is
the
Holmes
fandom
of
creators
Srijit
Mukherji
and
Aniruddha
Guha
laid
at
the
door
of
Sir
Arthur
Conan
Doyle.
Tribute
done,
the
show
then
proceeds
to
do
its
own
thing,
and
has
fun
with
it.
Holmes
tidbits
peek
out
sporadically,
and
the
viewer
enjoys
spotting
them.
Playing
the
titular
character,
Kay
Kay
Menon,
in
his
wardrobe
of
batik
kurtas
and
shirts,
mostly
lazes
around
in
Mrs
Henry’s
(Shernaz
Patel)
lodge
in
bucolic
Lonpur
(in
West
Bengal,
circa
1993),
playing
the
rabab
and
occasionally
helping
the
inept
Inspector
Laha
(Rudranil
Ghosh)
with
a
case.
But
what
mischief
could
the
denizens
of
this
sleepy
town
be
possibly
getting
up
to?
Laha
is
both
appalled
and
excited
when
the
he
actually
lands
his
first
murder
case.
By
this
time,
Dr
Jayvrat
Saini
(Ranvir
Shorey)
has
arrived
to
share
the
flat
with
Home,
and
his
plans
to
meditate
at
a
nearby
ashram
are
junked
(‘you
need
thrill,’
observes
Home)
as
he
is
dragged
into
becoming
Home’s
sidekick
—
assistant
according
to
Home,
partner
according
to
Saini.
Home,
solves
the
case,
of
course,
with
his
mythical
powers
of
deduction
and
canine
powers
of
smell,
while
having
a
pleasant
chat
with
the
killer.
Since
the
period
is
1993
—
and
there
are
references
to
films
of
the
era,
though
Home
is
not
seen
as
a
film
buff
—
video
technology
has
arrived.
Home
is
asked
by
his
brother
Mrinmay
(Kaushik
Sen)
of
the
Intelligence
Bureau
in
Kolkata,
to
help
catch
a
blackmailer
of
local
MLAs,
who
has
incriminating
tapes.
Unlike
Holmes,
who
is
decidedly
a
bachelor,
with
just
a
small
flutter
in
an
encounter
with
opera
singer
Irene
Adler,
Home
has
a
‘phir
milenge’
flirtation
with
Irabaty
(Rasika
Dugal).
She
reappears
with
a
case,
which
makes
up
the
episode
Bhaskar
Villa,
which
is
obviously
inspired
by
Doyle’s
best
known
work,
The
Hound
Of
The
Baskervilles.
The
first
four
episodes
(written
by
Guha
and
Niharika
Puri,
with
dialogue
by
Vaibhal
Vishal)
are
directed
with
the
leisurely
air
of
a
coffee
house
adda
by
Srijit
Mukherji,
wherein
lies
the
charm
of
the
show.
Home’s
nemesis
‘M’
has
been
hinted
at,
when
the
crisis
hits
Kolkata
and
Rohan
Sippy
takes
over
directorial
reins
to
direct
the
last
two
episodes,
that
require
a
lot
of
rushing
about
following
clues
as
to
why
three
important
scientists
were
killed
and
one
went
missing.
The
insertion
of
a
more
‘modern’
plot
line
would
not
have
been
quite
as
welcome
were
it
not
for
the
homage
to
the
Bengali
icon,
Rabindranath
Tagore.
Kay
Kay
Menon
bases
his
interpretation
of
Holmes/Home
on
the
way
Jeremy
Brett
played
him
with
his
tics
and
twitches
but
also
brings
his
own
sense
of
mischief
to
the
part,
like
his
way
of
saying
‘Ha‘
or
teasing
Jayvrat
and
Laha
or
mocking
the
too
serious
Mrinmay.
Ranvir
Shorey
makes
space
for
himself
without
encroaching
on
Menon’s
spotlight.
There
is
a
glimpse
of
the
deer
stalker
hat,
pipe
and
classic
cape
at
the
end,
perhaps
as
a
means
to
convey
that
there
is
more
to
come.
Six
episodes
are
not
enough!
Shekhar
Home
streams
on
JioCinema.
Shekhar
Home
Review
Rediff
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