Finally, a meaty case has dropped into the commodious lap of Rajesh Ji, member of the Bengali Detectives, a motley group of friends in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) who seek to solve crimes ignored by the police. A normal workday might include raiding markets to confiscate fake products from corrupt shopkeepers, but this case is different. Three young men have been murdered, and a relative turns to the amateur detectives to solve the crime, which has piqued public interest. In their quest, Rajesh and his friends race around Kolkata against a dizzying backdrop of colorful street life and quirky characters, before heading to their dance studio, where they gyrate in preparation for an upcoming Bollywood audition. While often humorous (the Bollywood scenes are riotous), the film underscores the challenges of contemporary India: poverty, adultery, crime, lack of education. An intriguing detective story with a portly, utterly charming gumshoe for a hero, The Bengali Detective excels in showing the extraordinary will of an ordinary man.  RM