Actor Parambrata addresses backlash to ‘Shabash Feluda’

In a recent interview with Variety, Bengali actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay discussed the mixed reaction and backlash surrounding the ZEE5 web series “Shabash Feluda,” in which he portrayed the iconic fictional detective Prodosh Chandra Mitter, also known as Feluda, according to The Hindustan Times. Directed by Arindam Sil, the series was released on May 5.

Over the years, several actors have portrayed Feluda, including Shashi Kapoor, Abir Chatterjee, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Indraneil Sengupta, and Ahmed Rubel.

In a new interview for Variety, Parambrata Chattopadhyay opened up about the mixed reaction to the series and said that ‘the audience completely got polarised into two halves’.

He added, “On one hand, there was a lot of appreciation. On the other hand, there was a lot of backlash as well. And we were completely prepared – Feluda is one of those rare icons or heroes that the Bengalis have got ever since independence. They identify a lot of a lot with him, they want to see themselves succeeding through Feluda. The backlash that happened actually made the series very popular in the sense that people started watching it in huge numbers, which was great. A lot of them really said very, very bad things about it. A lot of them said great things about it. But the fact was, there was incredible amount of engagement. And that’s all that we wanted.”

One comment on the YouTube trailer expressed strong discontent, calling the series sacrilege and accusing the creators of manipulating people’s emotions. Another viewer pleaded, “Please don’t ruin Feluda.”