New Delhi: Bengali film The Eken: Benaras E Bibhishika, released on 16 May, is the biggest Bengali film of 2025, with a collection of Rs 2.85 crore so far. This is the third film in the popular Eken detective franchise directed by Joydeep Mukherjee, and takes the titular sleuth to the city of Varanasi.
Anirban Chakrabarti returns in this film as the balding and potbellied ‘bhadralok‘ Eken Babu, accompanied by Suhotra Mukhopadhyay and Somak Ghosh, reprising their roles as Bapi and Pramatha, respectively. The film also features Saswata Chatterjee of Kalki 2898 AD (2024) and Kahaani (2012) fame, as a Buddhist monk.
“The character is especially a hit with younger kids, who can imagine him to be someone like their own kaku or neighbourhood uncle, who is also solving cases,” said director Mukherjee.
The Eken franchise started in 2018 as a web series on the Bengali OTT platform HoiChoi. Its instant popularity prompted the makers to turn it into a movie, which was released in 2022.
“Eken is different from other detectives in Bengali literature and movies. He is a foodie, he holds addas with his friends, like a regular Bengali guy. He is a bit scared of his wife and cracks poor jokes. These things would earlier only be seen in character actors, not heroes,” said Chakrabarti.
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A successful franchise
After the first film, which was set in West Bengal, the scope of the Eken universe widened. The second instalment, The Eken: Ruddhaswas Rajasthan (2023), was set in Jaisalmer, and the latest one is set in Uttar Pradesh. The first film had collected just above Rs 3 crore during its theatrical run, and the second movie had earned Rs 3.5 crore worldwide.
“The film is not framed like a whodunit. Everyone knows who the villain is, it is more the way the crime is committed. This time, the city of Varanasi is also a character in the film,” said Chakrabarti.
The Eken: Benaras E Bibhishika has seen more than 80 houseful shows in Bengal yes, and brought audiences to cinemas in big numbers. “People have been saying Bengalis don’t watch films in theatres anymore, but they do come in large numbers when they like something. And this time, the housefull shows are not just in multiplexes, but single screens across West Bengal,” said the director.
This year, two other movies, Srjit Mukherji’s KillBill Society, starring Parambrata Chatterjee and Koushani Mukherjee, a sequel of Hemlock Society (2021) and Aamar Boss, starring Rakhee Gulzar, have also raked in money at the Bengali box office.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)