Chiriyakhana 1967

Byomkesh Bakshi uttam-kumar and his close partner, the writer Ajit Bandyopadhyay, are chatting when a new client arrives. Nishanath Sen, a middle-aged ex-judge and a wealthy merchant, seeks Byomkesh for a peculiar case: uncovering the truth behind an old Bengali film song, Bhalobasar tumi ki jano, and the actress who sang it, Sunayana. Sen suspects she is hidden somewhere inside his enormous nursery, Golap Colony, living under a fake identity. As a judge, Sen once presided over many cases and hanged at least twenty people; in retirement, however, moral regrets drive him to shelter homeless individuals who carry troubled histories. Byomkesh listens carefully, accepts the challenge, and is paid an advance to begin the inquiry at the nursery.

During his preliminary research, Byomkesh meets a Bengali film authority, but it’s the tale of Murari, the son of the film’s producer, that casts the first shadow. Murari was intimate with Sunayana, and soon afterward he was murdered in his own room. A substantial amount of cash and gold ornaments vanished from the room, and Sunayana became a key suspect, though she vanished before the case could be resolved. The expert provides the essential background on the cast and the film, and promises to assist the detective as the mystery unfolds.

The next day, Byomkesh and Ajit proceed to Sen’s bungalow and the Golap Colony, where Sen has gathered a diverse group of residents. To blend in, Byomkesh disguises himself as a Japanese horticulturist named Okakura, while Ajit acts as his Indian assistant. Sen walks them through the nursery’s workings—dairy, poultry, and an orchid house—and introduces every resident, whom Byomkesh photographs for later comparison. Before long, Sen telephones for another visit, but the call ends abruptly when Sen is bludgeoned to death with a blunt instrument. A police inspector arrives the following day, seeking help with the murder, unaware of Byomkesh’s existing ties to Sen. With the Inspector’s arrival, Byomkesh and Ajit return to Golap Colony to interrogate all the occupants, knowing that the case is clogged with multiple motives and potential culprits.

As the investigation deepens, a second murder occurs in the colony: Panu, a deaf-mute witness, is killed in the same manner as Sen, reinforcing the sense that a single mastermind is at work. To crack the case, Byomkesh adopts a methodical approach, recording interrogations with a voice recorder and meticulously questioning suspects including Bijoy (Sen’s nephew), Rasiklal (a powerful figure in the colony), Mushkil Mia, Brajo Das (an employee of Sen), [NepaI Gupta], Dr. Das (a physician and sitarist), and all the women connected to the case, such as Najar Bibi (Mushkil Mia’s wife) and Banalakshmi (an employee who is revealed to be Sunayana). The question of who exactly fits the bill becomes more complex as each clue points to different angles.

A crucial breakthrough comes when Byomkesh discovers a taped recording of Dr. Das playing the sitar in his room during the time of the murders. This contradicts Dr. Das’s alibi and points to him as a key suspect. At the same time, Byomkesh uncovers stolen jewelry and Sunayana’s contract papers hidden in Dr. Das’s possession, and he learns that Banalakshmi is actually the actress Sunayana in disguise. The plastic flower found in Byomkesh’s room unlocks an important inference about the case’s rhythm and the people involved. Through careful deduction, Byomkesh shows that Dr. Das, aided by his wife Banalakshmi, manipulated and exploited her talent for financial gain and orchestrated Murari’s murder to cover up his broader criminal scheme. The final revelation ties together the evidence: Sunayana’s identity, the hidden documents, and the pattern of murders—Sen, Murari, and Panu—exposed as the work of Dr. Das and his wife. In the end, Banalakshmi’s confession clarifies the motive and the mechanism: the couple used Sunayana’s beauty and the front of a literary career to lure victims, while Dr. Das’s intimate acts of plotting ensured the destruction of witnesses and the erasure of incriminating evidence. The case closes with the detective’s unwavering resolve to uncover the truth, even as the shadows of ambition and deception linger over Golap Colony.