Saradindu Bandopadhyay published his first work, a collection of poems, at the age of 20. He studied law, and then devoted his time to writing. The first Byomkesh Bakshi work appeared in 1932. One of his earliest stories, Raktasandhya, appeared in Bengali in 1939. It was later included in "The Scarlet Dusk" (2003), a collection of 5 of his stories translated into English.
He moved to Bombay in 1938 to write screenplays for Bombay Talkies and other film banners. He gave up ties with the film industry in 1952, and moved to Pune, to concentrate on writing. He wrote several ghost stories, historical romances and children's stories in Bengali over the next 18 years. He died in 1970.
As screenplay writer he wrote the screenplays for:
Durga (1939), Kangan (1939), Navjeevan (1939) and Azad (1940) .
Sharadindu Bandopadhyay wrote different forms of prose: novels, short stories, plays and screenplays. However, his forte was short stories and novels. To aficionados of his writings, his historical fictions like kaaler mandiraa, gouRo mollar (also known as mouRi nodir tirey), tumi sandhyara megh, tungabhadraar teere (all novels), chua-chandan, maru o sangha (later made into a Hindi film named Trishangni) and stories of unnatural with a recurring character Barada score high points.
When, in 1932, Saradindu Bandyopadhyay decided to try his hand at detective fiction-looked down upon in Bengali literary circles of that time as frivolous ventures; he scarcely expected Byomkesh Bakshi to become one of the most popular and enduring creations in Bengali literature. Although largely modelled on such greats as Conan Doyle's Holmes and Chesterton's Father Brown, Byomkesh's appeal as the self-styled inquisitor, a detective not by profession but by passion, found him a dedicated following among generations of readers.
Shradindu's writing was well researched, mellifluous, humorous and full of insights into human characters and contemporary urban Bengali society.
His works are included in
Sharadindu Omnibus in 12 Volumes.
Bandopadhyay's writings were also featured in films.
Bengali movies included:
- Chiriyakhana directed by Satyajit Ray is based on one of the most intricate detective novels ever written in Bengali. It features supersleuth Byomkesh Bakshi.
- Jhinder Bondi directed by Tapan Sinha is based on a recreation of Prisoner of Zenda written by Anthony Hope. This novel is categorized as one of Sharadindu's romantic novels.
- Dadar Kirti directed by Tarun Mazumdar. This full-length feature is based on a short-story of the same name.
Hindi movie:
- Trishagni is an award-winning film directed by Nabendu Ghosh based on Sharadindu's historical short-story Moru o shongho.
Bandyopadhyay was awarded the Rabindra Purashkar in 1967 for the novel Tungabhadrar Tirey. The Calcutta University honoured him with the Sarat Smriti Purashkar in 1967 too.
