Srijit Mukherji to direct Indo-British film on Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyl
Arthur Conan Doyle, the celebrated British writer and creator of the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes, will be the central character of a new India-UK co-production feature film, titled Elementary My Dear Holmes.
The film, which was announced at a special event at the historic Guildhall in London on Monday, will be directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Srijit Mukherji and produced by Shahnaab Alam.Doyle’s stories were less about deduction than the anatomy of curiosity itself; the need to look harder, closer, deeper,” said Srijit, who was drawn to the stories Sherlock Holmes as a schoolboy.
“Elementary My Dear Holmes imagines Doyle stepping into his own fiction – a man haunted by the clarity he created, forced to apply it to a world far messier than the one on paper. The film begins with the murder of Mrs Gilchrist and the wrongful arrest of Oscar Slater, but what interests me isn’t the crime, it’s the man watching his imagination blur with reality,” he added.Srijit will produce the project through his company Matchcut Productions along with Alam’s London-based company Invisible Thread, under the UK-India Co-Production Treaty administered by the British Film Institute (BFI) and India’s National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
“This period drama represents the shared history of cultural and literary legacy between the two nations and assumes greater significance since Arthur Conan Doyle and his creation, Sherlock Holmes, remain possibly the UK’s greatest ever literaryWorking on this film project has been a fascinating personal journey of discovering the polymathic vastness of the multi-faceted Doyle, whose interests and pursuits led him from being trained as a physician to a surgeon, military doctor, private investigator, advocate, psychic researcher, spiritualist, historian, lecturer, dramatist and sportsperson, apart from being a legendary author,” he added.Srijit will produce the project through his company Matchcut Productions along with Alam’s London-based company Invisible Thread, under the UK-India Co-Production Treaty administered by the British Film Institute (BFI) and India’s National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
“This period drama represents the shared history of cultural and literary legacy between the two nations and assumes greater significance since Arthur Conan Doyle and his creation, Sherlock Holmes, remain possibly the UK’s greatest ever literary-The project has been endorsed by the Conan Doyle Estate, which was represented at the launch event by CEO Tim Hubbard and Doyle family members – Richard Pooley and Richard Doyle.The Doyle family, through the Conan Doyle Estate, wants the world to realise what a remarkable man their ancestor was. We believe this film will help us achieve that,” added Pooley.
The launch event, hosted by City of London Councilman Munsur Ali, also featured a specially curated exhibition of rare artefacts from the Conan Doyle Estate, showcasing the author’s wide-ranging pursuits beyond
“Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is famous as the creator of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, but few today realise how active he was throughout his adult life in fighting injustice at home and abroad,” said Pooley, director of the Conan Doyle Estate.
The project has been endorsed by the Conan Doyle Estate, which was represented at the launch event
Srijit, known for acclaimed Bengali titles such as Autograph, Jaatishwar and Gumnaami, said the film will explore the life and legacy of Conan Doyle, delving into the