Reviews for Kamra No. 102 Episode of Hindi TV Serial Byomkesh Bakshi

Let us continue our quest of exploring various tales featuring Detective Byomkesh Bakshi through Hindi TV Serial of the same name by famous director Basu Chatterji.

Episode #28 of Byomkesh Bakshi is a murder mystery titled as Kamra No. 102 (Room No. 102 – Bengali title: Room Nombor Dui). The fictional incidents explored in this episode are set up in 1964.

Let us take a bird’s eye view of the story explored in this episode.

We are taken to Hotel Anupama in the year of 1964 by the director to witness some interesting fictional incidents being happened there.

Manager of the hotel, accompanied by a staff member, was trying to get open the door of room number 102. The tenant, however, was not responding. Ultimately the manager has decided to open the door with the hotel keys. At the same time doors of two adjacent rooms opened. One of the tenants was complaining about his health and asks the manager to call in a doctor for him. Another tenant was a lady, who we later came to know, is a doctor.

The lady doctor decided to attend the patient even before approached by the hotel staff. And, the manager found something unexpected when he opened the door of the room no. 102. He asked the servant to wait there and went on to call the police. The tenant of the room no. 102 is met with his death.

Incharge police inspector immediately paid a visit to the hotel. He was accompanied by a constable, a police doctor, and Satyanveshi Byomkesh Bakshi! Yes, this is how Byomkesh is associated with this case. The inspector does the formalities and asked the constable to note everyone’s statement. He enquired about the incidents of last night in order to see if there is anything he can find which is out of routine.

The primary investigation suggested that the murder was accomplished using something like a knife or any other sharp object. Byomkesh and inspector decided to record the statement of the lady doctor (the tenant of room no. 101) first. While the manager introduced her name as Dr. Shobhna Sen, she introduced herself as Dr. Shobhna Rai (or Dr. Shobhna Ray). She does her practice at Behrampura, and being a gynecologist, she often visits Calcutta (now Kolkata) as she is associated with an organization there. And, this is how she came this time too. During most of her visits to Kolkata, she used to stay at Hotel Anupama only.

While the inspector has asked for a short Q/A session with Dr. Shobhna, he asked her many questions and we got to know a lot of details from her. It was followed by a conversation with another guest, the patient. This conversation is infused with funny lines and behavior and you will enjoy it for sure. Of course, the statement of the hotel manager and other staff members recorded as well.

While there seems to be no evidence found in the room no. 102, it will be challenge for Byomkesh to find the murderer. But we are confident that this Indian Sherlock will find the culprit, right?

While we miss fantastic acting by K. K. Raina (playing Ajit) in this episode, Rajit Kapoor is in his usual form. He is convincing as the protagonist and even more importantly, as just another middle-class fellow. He uses no gadgets which are like technical marvel, nor have any show-off attitude. He uses the most powerful elements we humans have, the brain. His theory of linking dots to make a line, deduce the things, seeks out truth from the vital source of information, is all convincing and satisfactory as well.

In this episode, we have so many brilliant performances to witness. Almost everyone is playing their respective role, so convincingly, that we have a little to complain about. The casting director deserves the credit for finding such suitable actors for respective roles.

Of course, the real essence lies in the story itself, we must give credit to the scriptwriter and the dialog writer as well. The story written in the context of 1964 and primarily target to Bengali readers, is adapted so brilliantly in 1994 that it looked convincing and welcomed warmly by the Hindi speaking audience all over India. And the episode looks interesting even today. Of course, some technical limitations are there, but, the linear storytelling approach is really interesting.

It is way better than many TV Serials made and aired these days. And, it proves, unless and until you have a substance in the story to tell, no technical marvel and especially so many camera angles and replays, makes any difference.

The background music adds to the moods of various scenes positively. It is, in fact, a positive attribute of the episode that music never overpowers the dialogs. The wardrobe requires a mention for sure. It is a delight to see the exploration of real people in real homes and real social environment on the TeleVision screen. The wears no make up (then required for the character, of course).

In addition, however not intended to, this episode gives you an inside look at the lifestyle of people living during those times in West Bengal and other areas.

Basu Chatterji, the captain of the ship, who donned many hats, requires a special mention for the excellent work he has done, especially with the limited budget and resources.

Definitely a worth watching episode. Despite of its technical limitations, it is a fantastic episode with so many positive attributes, that the makers of detective fiction TV Serials can learn a lot from it.

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Watch out for our views and reviews for the next episode of Byomkesh Bakshi – Season 2 to see which is the next challenge against Byomkesh and how he seeks the truth.