Jatayu (Lal Mohan Ganguly)
Encyclopedia
Lalmohan Ganguly, alias Jatayu , (also spelled Jotayu) is a character in the Feluda
stories written by Satyajit Ray
. He writes crime thrillers, but is quite weak and nervous in real life. He is fairly wealthy due to the immense sales of his books; he writes two books a year. His crime fiction stories have very interesting names, often characterised by alliterations like `Sahara-ey Shiharan', `Vancouver-er Vampire', `Honduras-e Hahakar', `Atlantic-er Atanka' etc. It may be noted that the names of several Feluda stories also exhibit this feature, for example 'Gangtoke Gondogol', 'Joto Kando Kathmandute', 'Royal Bengal Rahasya', 'Robertson-er Ruby', 'Gosaipur Sargaram', etc. The detective of Jatayu's novel, Prakhar Rudra, is a character with incredible intellect and power. Lalmohan's grandfather gave his name "Swarbogya Gongopadhyay" but Lalmohan does not use that name.
He first meets Feluda in the story Sonar Kella
(The Golden Fortress) and from then on he accompanies Feluda and Topshe on all their major adventures. He collects weapons but is often reluctant to use them. Weapons collected by him during different adventures include boomerang, kukri (knife), smoke bomb etc. His whole demeanour is of hilarity and he regularly provides the comic relief in the stories. He has a history with the villain Maganlal Meghraj who had a circus performer throw knives at him in Joi Baba Felunath
(The Mystery of the Elephant God) and fed him the drug LSD
in Jato Kando Kathmandutey (The Criminals of Kathmandu).The last time Jatayu met Meghraj was at Golapi Mukto Rahashya
In the Feluda adventures he is a great source of comic relief. However, his qualities improve with time and with his association with Feluda, gradually makes him more knowledgeable and intelligent. In the movie version (not in the original story) of the first story, Sonar Kella
, the criminal Mandar Bose escapes due to the folly of Jatayu. But in the later stories we find Jatayu being of great help to Feluda in his work.
Jatayu is a fan of Baikuntha Mallick, a teacher in Athenium Institution, Kolkata
, who is also a poet. Jatayu often recites his poems, which are also a source of comedy due to their peculiarity. Jatayu walks two miles daily to keep fit, refers to encyclopaedia for writing novels. He is a bachelor and owns three houses. He loves travelling.
In the first two movies on Feluda, the character of Jatayu was played by eminent actor Santosh Dutta
, and due to his performance, Satyajit's Rays later stories on Feluda had Jatayu adapting himself to the looks and mannerisms of Santosh Dutta. Bombaiyer Bombete
, Kailashey Kelenkari & Tintorettor Jishu
saw Jatayu being played by Bivu Bhattacharya. Rabi Ghosh
played the role in the telefilm Baksho Rohoshyo.
Feluda
Feluda, or Prodosh Chandra Mitra, who uses the anglicised name Pradosh C. Mitter, is a fictional private investigator starring in a series of Bengali novels and short stories written by the famous Indian Bengali film director and writer Satyajit Ray. The detective lives at Rajani Sen Road,...
stories written by Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
. He writes crime thrillers, but is quite weak and nervous in real life. He is fairly wealthy due to the immense sales of his books; he writes two books a year. His crime fiction stories have very interesting names, often characterised by alliterations like `Sahara-ey Shiharan', `Vancouver-er Vampire', `Honduras-e Hahakar', `Atlantic-er Atanka' etc. It may be noted that the names of several Feluda stories also exhibit this feature, for example 'Gangtoke Gondogol', 'Joto Kando Kathmandute', 'Royal Bengal Rahasya', 'Robertson-er Ruby', 'Gosaipur Sargaram', etc. The detective of Jatayu's novel, Prakhar Rudra, is a character with incredible intellect and power. Lalmohan's grandfather gave his name "Swarbogya Gongopadhyay" but Lalmohan does not use that name.
He first meets Feluda in the story Sonar Kella
Sonar Kella
Sonar Kella , also Shonar Kella, released in the United States as The Golden Fortress, is a 1971 mystery novel and a 1974 film by Bengali writer and director Satyajit Ray. The film is an adaptation of the novel with minor plot changes and features the actors Soumitra Chatterjee, Santosh Dutta,...
(The Golden Fortress) and from then on he accompanies Feluda and Topshe on all their major adventures. He collects weapons but is often reluctant to use them. Weapons collected by him during different adventures include boomerang, kukri (knife), smoke bomb etc. His whole demeanour is of hilarity and he regularly provides the comic relief in the stories. He has a history with the villain Maganlal Meghraj who had a circus performer throw knives at him in Joi Baba Felunath
Joi Baba Felunath
Joi Baba Felunath is a 1979 film by Bengali director Satyajit Ray, featuring the actors Soumitra Chatterjee, Santosh Dutta, Siddartha Chatterjee, Utpal Dutt among others.The film is based on the famous Feluda novel of the same name written by Ray....
(The Mystery of the Elephant God) and fed him the drug LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
in Jato Kando Kathmandutey (The Criminals of Kathmandu).The last time Jatayu met Meghraj was at Golapi Mukto Rahashya
In the Feluda adventures he is a great source of comic relief. However, his qualities improve with time and with his association with Feluda, gradually makes him more knowledgeable and intelligent. In the movie version (not in the original story) of the first story, Sonar Kella
Sonar Kella
Sonar Kella , also Shonar Kella, released in the United States as The Golden Fortress, is a 1971 mystery novel and a 1974 film by Bengali writer and director Satyajit Ray. The film is an adaptation of the novel with minor plot changes and features the actors Soumitra Chatterjee, Santosh Dutta,...
, the criminal Mandar Bose escapes due to the folly of Jatayu. But in the later stories we find Jatayu being of great help to Feluda in his work.
Jatayu is a fan of Baikuntha Mallick, a teacher in Athenium Institution, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, who is also a poet. Jatayu often recites his poems, which are also a source of comedy due to their peculiarity. Jatayu walks two miles daily to keep fit, refers to encyclopaedia for writing novels. He is a bachelor and owns three houses. He loves travelling.
In the first two movies on Feluda, the character of Jatayu was played by eminent actor Santosh Dutta
Santosh Dutta
Santosh Dutta was a Bengali character actor, best known for immortalizing the character of Jatayu in Satyajit Ray's Feluda movies viz. Sonar Kella and Joi Baba Felunath. A lawyer by profession, Santosh Dutta will be remembered as one of the greatest comedians Bengali Films ever had. Essentially a...
, and due to his performance, Satyajit's Rays later stories on Feluda had Jatayu adapting himself to the looks and mannerisms of Santosh Dutta. Bombaiyer Bombete
Bombaiyer Bombete
Bombaiyer Bombete is a thriller film directed by Sandip Ray based on the story of the same name by Satyajit Ray.-Plot:Lalmohan Ganguly, alias Jatayu - a sidekick of Feluda - gets invited to Mumbai to watch the shooting of a film based on a novel written by him...
, Kailashey Kelenkari & Tintorettor Jishu
Tintorettor Jishu
Tintorettor Jishu is a mystery novel by Satyajit Ray about an adventure of Feluda. A movie directed by Sandip Ray has been made based on the story . An extensive shoot schedule at Hong Kong during May 2008 takes Feluda movies to a new height...
saw Jatayu being played by Bivu Bhattacharya. Rabi Ghosh
Rabi Ghosh
Rabi Ghosh was an actor from India. He is best known for his comic roles in Bengali movies, though his versatile acting talent has stunned viewers and critics alike in various kind of roles. He was a regular in Satyajit Ray cinemas...
played the role in the telefilm Baksho Rohoshyo.