P. K. Basu is a

fictional detective Fictional detectives are characters in detective fiction. These individuals have long been a staple of Detective fiction, detective Mystery fiction, mystery crime fiction, particularly in Detective fiction, detective novels and short stories. Muc ...

character created by

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

writer

Narayan Sanyal Narayan Sanyal (26 April 1923 – 7 February 2005) was an Indian writer of modern Bengali literature as well as a civil engineer. Biography Narayan Sanyal was born in Hindmotor to Chittasukh Sanyal and Basantalata Devi. His name was initial ...

. These detective stories are popularly known as the ''Kanta'' (Thorn) series. Some of the stories were inspired by the novels of

Erle Stanley Gardner Erle Stanley Gardner (July 17, 1889 – March 11, 1970) was an American author and lawyer, best known for the Perry Mason series of legal detective stories. Gardner also wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces as well as a series of no ...

and

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

Character

The writer often referred Basu as 'The

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

of the East', since Sanyal was inspired to create the character from the masterpiece of

. Basu's full name is ''Prasanna Kumar Basu'' and by profession he is an indomitable criminal side

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

of the

Calcutta High Court The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located at Esplanade Row West, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. T ...

. In the first story named ''Nagchampa'', Basu is shown to be an old, unmarried man but since the novel of ''Sonar Kanta, the'' writer changed the character of Basu to an aged Barrister, whose wife ''Ranu'' is physically challenged & ''Suborna'' alias ''Mithu'', their only daughter, has died in a car accident. P. K. Basu is not a professional detective but solves the cases through discussion and in courtroom drama. A young couple, Koushik and Sujata, live with Basu's family in his house. They form a private detective agency, ''Sukoushali''. Very often, Basu takes their help in investigation.

Stories

* ''Nagchampa'' (Published: 1968) * ''Sonar Kanta'' (Published: 1974; Inspired by

The Mousetrap ''The Mousetrap'' is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The play opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemi ...

) * ''Machher Kanta'' (Published: March 1975) * ''Pother Kanta'' (Published: January 1976) * ''Ghorir Kanta'' (Published: January 1977) * ''Kuler Kanta'' (Published: May 1978) * ''Uler Kanta'' (Published: May 1980, Inspired by ''The Case of the Perjured Parrot'' by

) * ''O-Aa-Ko Khuner Kanta'' (Published: 1987, Inspired by The A.B.C. Murders by

) * ''Sarmeyo Genduker Kanta'' (Published: 1989, Inspired by

Dumb Witness ''Dumb Witness'' is a detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 5 July 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of ''Poirot Lo ...

) * ''Ristedarer Kanta'' (Published: 1992; Inspired by: ''The Case of the Beautiful Beggar'' by

). * ''Koutuholi Koner Kanta'' (Published: 1993; Inspired by: ''The Case of the Curious Bride'' by

) * ''Jadu Eto Boro Ronger Kanta'' (Published 1993) * ''Abhi Purbak Nee Dhatu O-er Kanta'' (Published in 1994, Inspired by '' The Case of the Restless Redhead'' by

) * ''Nyay Nishtha Nyasnasheer Kanta'' (Published: 1994) * ''Dwi Boibahik Kanta'' (Published 1994)Inspired by ''The Case of Bigamous spouse'' by

* ''Jom Duare Porlo Kanta'' (Published in 1994) * ''Bisher Kanta'' (Published: 1996) Inspired by: ''The Case of the Lucky Legs'' by

* ''Dress Reharshal-er Kanta'' (Inspired by: ''Three Act Tragedy'' by

Published: 1998) * ''Darpone Pratibimbito Kanta'' (Published: 1999) * ''Sokol Kanta Dhyonyo Kore'' (Published: 1999) * ''Chnaparonger Murshidabadi Sharir Kanta'' (Published: 2001) * ''Monalisa'r Kanta'' (Published: 2001) * ''Iskapan Bibir Kanta'' (Published: 2001, Inspired by ''The King of Clubs'' by

) * ''Haripada Keranir Kanta'' (Published: January 2001)

Adaptation

* The first story of P. K. Basu ''Nagchampa'' was adapted in a Bengali movie named '' Jadi Jantem'', which was released on 1 March 1974. This film was directed by ''Yatrik'' (

Tarun Majumdar Tarun Majumdar (or Mazumdar, 8 January 1931 – 4 July 2022) was an Indian film director, documentary filmmaker, author, illustrator and screenwriter who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. He received five National Awards, seven BFJA Aw ...

) and starred by

Uttam Kumar Uttam Kumar (born Arun Kumar Chattopadhyay; 3 September 1926 – 24 July 1980), widely known as Mahanayak (), was an Indian film actor, producer, director, screenwriter, composer, and playback singer who predominantly worked in Bengali cinema ...

as P. K. Basu,

Ruma Guha Thakurta Ruma Guha Thakurta (21 November 1934 – 3 June 2019) was an Indian actress and singer primarily associated with Bengali language films. She founded Calcutta Youth Choir in 1958. Early life Ruma Guha Thakurta was born as Ruma Ghosh on 3 No ...

as Ranu,

Soumitra Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; ; 19 January 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the histor ...

as Koushik and

Supriya Choudhury Supriya Devi (Supriya Choudhury; 8 January 1933 – 26 January 2018) was an Indian actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema for more than 50 years. She is best known for her portrayal of Neeta in Ritwik Ghatak's Bengali film '' Megh ...

as Sujata. Narayan Sanyal himself wrote the dialogues. * In 2018, director

Haranath Chakraborty Haranath Chakraborty () is an Indian Bengali people, Bengali film director. He made his directorial debut with "Mangaldeep" (1989). Many of his movies have been critically acclaimed and enjoyed commercial success. Awards *Sathi (2002) won the ...

set a film titled Kantaye Kantaye based on the story ''Haripada Keranir Kaanta''.

Ranjit Mallick Ranjit Mallick (born 28 September 1944) is an Indian actor who works mainly in Bengali cinema. Though he has starred in parallel films like ''Interview'', '' Calcutta 71'', '' Shakha Proshakha'' and romantic comedy like '' Mouchak''; he is pa ...

has been roped in for the role of P. K. Basu, but the film has not been released. * A web series directed by Joydeep Mukherjee titled '' Kaantaye Kaantaye'' was released on 15 August 2024. This film is based on ''Sonar Kanta'' and

Saswata Chatterjee Saswata Chatterjee (born 19 December 1970) is an Indian actor known for his work in Bengali cinema and television, with appearances in Hindi films. The son of actor Subhendu Chatterjee, he began his career with a Hindi television series direc ...

plays the role of P. K. Basu.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basu, P. K. Fictional amateur detectives Fictional Indian detectives Fictional Indian people in literature Fictional Bengali people Fictional Hindus Male characters in literature Literary characters introduced in 1968