Indian television, at least in its heydays, offered viewers memorable sleuths who have left a lasting impression. Compared to those carrot-chomping standards, recent streaming shows — supposedly a playground of quirk and intricate world-building — haven’t quite risen to the challenge. Nonetheless, there was one outlier last year: Vishal Bhardwaj’s Charlie Chopra & The Mystery Of Solang Valley. This charming series featured Wamiqa Gabbi in the role of a hilarious and profanity-laden Emily Trefusis. Now, in a similar feat, accomplished actor Kay Kay Menon reteams with his Ray director Srijit Mukherji to tackle a classic figure in Shekhar Home, a new series streaming on JioCinema.
Kay Kay Menon brings to life a Bengali rendition of Sherlock Holmes in Mukherji’s latest series, Shekhar Home. Set against the backdrop of the 1990s in a fictitious, sleepy town named Lonpur, the show breathes a unique Bengali soul into Arthur Conan Doyle’s original tales. “Ei to jibon, Kali da (such is life, Kali brother),” declares Shekhar, accentuating the local flavor, in the series’ opening episode. Even the settings are infused with regional quirks, such as a café named ‘Khasha Blanca.’
“Home is a bona fide surname in Bengal,” Kay Kay emphasizes. “Our show is authentically Indian. Set in the early 1990s, it predates the age of computers and modern electronic devices, making the art of detection more engaging and physically grounded. The town itself exudes a lazy charm, reminiscent of the Malgudi Days era,” he adds, drawing a parallel to the beloved Indian television series from the past.
In his role, Kay Kay Menon cites Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on British TV as his favorite interpretation. Though he dons the iconic deerstalker hat on the series’ promotion posters, Kay Kay wanted to delve deeper, focusing on the character’s internal psyche rather than merely replicating professional habits.
“I strive to play the person and not the profession,” Kay Kay elaborates. “My focus isn’t on how swiftly Shekhar can use a prop. I can never fully grasp the intricacies of any profession. But what I can understand is a person, a human being. It’s a psychological process that actors like me adhere to.”
Recalling his childhood, Kay Kay reminisces about his avid reading of Conan Doyle’s works, along with books by Agatha Christie, The Hardy Boys, and Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five. Through these early literary adventures, his imagination and inquisitiveness were vividly nurtured. “Even today, long after I’ve completed a scene, the image that lingers is the one I had visualized while reading the script,” he shares. This visual habit was profoundly evident while filming Shekhar Home. “The production team would refer to ‘the market scene,’ but my mind would be picturing something else altogether.”
Kay Kay has previously referred to himself as an ‘impressionist’ actor, a metaphor borrowed from the world of painting. Today, he supplements this with another term: ‘simulator.’
“In modern flight simulators, the experience of flying a plane is so authentic that authorities have removed the crash mode due to instances of heart attacks.
. My job as an actor is similar. My simulation of a character needs to be that life-like,” he explains.
Renowned for respecting his audience’s intelligence, Kay Kay always opts for subtlety, providing nuanced gestures and hints rather than overt dramatizations. It’s a level of trust that has remained unbroken over his three-decade-long acting career. He reflects on a scene from Sarkar (2005), where his character Vishnu gazes at a young starlet with malevolence. Years later, a fan expressed how indelible that scene was for them.
“I firmly believe that audiences are intelligent. They might not be bookish intellectuals, but they are undoubtedly smart. Navigating various life circumstances requires intelligence. If they are smart enough to manage life, understanding a film is straightforward,” he asserts.
Recently, Kay Kay has enjoyed a successful stint on streaming platforms. His roles in The Great Indian Dysfunctional Family, Farzi, Special Ops, Bambai Meri Jaan, and The Railway Men underline his versatility. He also appears in a ‘glorified cameo’ in the future series Citadel: Honey Bunny, led by Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu. Another series, Murshid, is set for release this month.
Kay Kay has increasingly engaged with media. Before our interview, he graciously completed a rapid-fire session and shared advice with a Gen-Z audience through a youth platform. His Instagram boasts 407k followers and 477 posts, primarily work announcements and collaborations. Although active, his social media remains professional rather than personal.
“Social media is an integral part of our lives today,” Kay Kay acknowledges. “I generally use it to promote my films. While I appreciate the creativity involved in crafting a one-minute reel, I personally don’t possess that skill.”
His last theatrical release, the sports drama Love All (2023), added to his illustrious body of work. Once a superstar of alternative cinema alongside actors like Irrfan Khan and Manoj Bajpayee, Kay Kay observes that this niche now largely resides in the streaming domain.
“All through my career, I’ve seen phases where content-driven cinema threatens to become mainstream. It never quite happens,” he laughs.
Blaming it on the audience’s penchant for larger-than-life entertainment, he concludes, “Blockbusters dominate in India. Audiences crave a lavish spread rather than a single nutritious meal.”
Shekhar Home is currently streaming on JioCinema.
