Feluda - Other Characters

Other Characters

Tapesh Ranjan Mitra তপেশ রঞ্জন মিত্র

Feluda's cousin, who is fondly referred to as Topshe, is based on Arthur Conan Doyle's conception of John Watson. Just like the former army surgeon, Topshe is the quintessential accomplice and faithfully records each of Prodosh Mitra's exploits accurately. Though Feluda often teases his young cousin, he is extremely fond and very protective of him. Feluda lives with Topshe's family. Topshe's father is the younger brother of Feluda's father, and therefore his uncle, and they all reside at 21, Rajani Sen Road, Kolkata-700029. Although there really is a 'Rajani Sen Road' in Kolkata, the house number is missing. In films and TV serials the character has been played by Siddahartha Chattopadhyay, Saswata Chattopadhyaya, and Parambrata Chattopadhyay at different times.He is a teenager. The new Topshe is played by Saheb Bhattacharjee, son of footballer Subrato bhattacharjee.

Lalmohon Ganguli লালমোহন গাঙ্গুলী aka Jatayu জটায়ু

He is a close friend of Prodosh Chandra Mitra, and is described as the author of a series of Bengali crime thrillers written under the pseudonym 'Jatayu'. His crime stories novels are usually derided as unbelievable, considering that his main character is always the six-and-a-half foot tall superhero Prakhar Rudra. Though all his novels seem to have become bestsellers, he often tends to make extremely silly mistakes such as spelling igloos as 'ilgoos'. In Baksho Rahasya or Mystery of a box, he confuses hippos with walruses — a tendency that Feluda often tries to correct. He sometimes serves as a perfect foil to the group and in Ray's own words provides 'dollops of humour', although he sometimes does some brave acts not expected of him. He owns a 'Madrasi green' Ambassador car. Jatayu makes his first appearance in Sonar Kella joining Feluda and Topshe in the train at Kanpur, on their way to Jodhpur. In the first two films on Feluda, which were directed by Ray himself, the character was played by Santosh Dutta, and after the first one, Ray modified the literary character to some extent, making him look and behave quite like Dutta himself. Jatayu lives at Garpar in Kolkata, and it may be recalled that Satyajit Ray himself passed his childhood at 100, Garpar.

Sidhu Jyatha

His formal name is Shiddeshwar Basu সিদ্ধেস্বর বোস, is an aged character who has described himself to be like Sherlock Holmes's brother Mycroft, living on Sardar Sankar Road, Lake Market, Kolkata. He is a bibliophile, and has an extensive base of general knowledge, current and historical affairs. He is a close friend of Feluda's father, being neighbours in their ancestral village at Bangladesh. Feluda's jyatha (that is, uncle) is said to have a 'photographic memory', and is a vast source of information which comes in handy when Feluda is in need of some. His vast knowledge comes from his collection of varied kinds of newspaper clippings which he has accumulated over the years. The role was played by Harindranath Chattopadhyay in Sonar Kella and by Haradhan Banerjee in Kailashe Kelenkari and in "Gorosthaney Sabdhan". Following recent Feluda films made by Sandip Ray, Satyajit Ray's son, there have been questions over Sidhu Jyatha's continued relevance in the stories considering technologies such as the internet offer a faster, wider and more effective knowledge base than a well-read person.

Haripada হরিপদ

Haripada is the driver of Lalmohon Ganguli's second-hand green Mark II Ambassador car. He is a loyal, intelligent and reliable person and is of great help when needed. He played a crucial role in Gorosthaney Sabhdhan where he saved the lives of Feluda, Lalmohon, and Topshe.In Ambar Sen Ontordhan Rohossho, Haripad is seen carrying the ransom to the kidnapper. He also has a minor role in Boshpukery Khunkharapi, where he takes part in a surveillance mission with the rest of the Feluda gang in disguise.

Maganlal Meghraj মগনলাল মেঘরাজ

Meghraj s a villainous character that appears in several of Feluda's stories, including Joy Baba Felunath, Jato Kando Kathmandute, and Golapi Mukta Rahasyao. He has been compared to Professor Moriarty of the Sherlock Holmes-series. Utpal Dutta immortalised this character in one Feluda movie Joi Baba Felunath, which Satyajit Ray directed.

Pulak Ghoshal পুলক ঘোষাল

Ghoshal is a Mumbai-based popular Hindi film director hailing from Kolkata. His original home in Kolkata is in the neighbourhood of Lalmohonbabu's in northern Kolkata's Garpar. He has directed two films based on Lalmohonbabu's stories . During the shooting of both these films, dangerous events took place, resulting in arrest of producer in one film (Bombaiyer Bombete) and arrest of hero in another film (Darjeeling Jamjomat).

• Srinath (not to be confused with Javagal Srinath) is the domestic help of Feluda and Topshe. He is often seen serving tea for Feluda and his clients. He is also a good cook of Bengali food.
• Jagannath is a minor character who is the household cook at Feluda's place.
• Baikuntha Mallik was Jatayu's Bengali teacher at Ethenium Institution when he was in the seventh grade.Lalmohan babu often describes him as a great poet who did not get the adulation he desrved.There is no presence of him in the story but in some stories we can see Jatayu reciting his poems.