Kolkata/IBNS: Senior Bengali actor Saswata Chatterjee's first looks from Hoichoi Studios' next theatrical release, The Eken – Benaras e Bibhishika, was unveiled by the makers on Monday.

Directed by Joydeep Mukherjee, Saswata appears as an old man with eyes that seem to carry the weight of untold stories; a quiet, composed police officer with secrets just beneath the surface; a towering Punjabi with an unmistakable edge; and an everyday local in slippers and gamcha, effortlessly blending into the backdrop of the ghats.

He transforms into a saffron-robed monk with dark sunglasses, exuding both calm and contradiction.

He is also a bleach-blonde Goan — quirky and loud, bringing with him a strange charm and chaos. There’s also the unassuming man in trousers, shirt, and cap — someone you’d pass without a second glance, but who might just be hiding the biggest secrets of all.

Each look deepens the intrigue: are they disguises, multiple characters, or facets of the same person? The answers drift somewhere in the smoke, the silence, and the ever-shifting shadows of Benaras.

These avatars are deeply woven into the plot’s central puzzle.

Set against the mystical and layered backdrop of one the world’s oldest cities, The Eken – Benaras e Bibhishika follows the eccentric yet endearing sleuth Eken Babu, played once again by Anirban Chakrabarti, as he is drawn into a chilling conspiracy.

What begins as a curious trail of clues — a series of peculiar paintings, a pendant hiding a secret, coded messages in Morse — soon unfolds into a high-stakes investigation where the city itself seems to be guarding its truths.

All of this builds up to the eerie and visually arresting festival of Masaan Holi, where tradition, celebration, and terror collide. And somewhere within this maze of stories and shadows, Saswata’s characters appear and disappear like mirages — never revealing too much, always leaving you guessing.

The screenplay and dialogues are written by Padmanabha Dasgupta.

The film is slated to release on May 16.