The writer often referred Basu as 'The Perry Mason of the East', since Sanyal was inspired to create the character from the masterpiece of Erle Stanley Gardner. Basu's full name is Prasanna Kumar Basu and by profession he is an indomitable criminal side barrister of the Calcutta High Court. In the first story named Nagchampa, Basu is shown to be an old, unmarried man but since the novel of Sonar Kanta, the writer changed the character of Basu to an aged Barrister, whose wife Ranu is physically challenged & Suborna alias Mithu, their only daughter, has died in a car accident. P. K. Basu is not a professional detective but solves the cases through discussion and in courtroom drama. A young couple, Koushik and Sujata, live with Basu's family in his house. They form a private detective agency, Sukoushali. Very often, Basu takes their help in investigation.[3]
In 2018, director Haranath Chakraborty set a film titled Kantaye Kantaye based on the story Haripada Keranir Kaanta. Ranjit Mallick has been roped in for the role of P. K. Basu, but the film has not been released.[9]
A web series directed by Joydeep Mukherjee titled Kaantaye Kaantaye was released on 15 August 2024. This film is based on Sonar Kanta and Saswata Chatterjee plays the role of P. K. Basu.[10][11]
