State orders daily prime time screening of Bengali movies in all theatres

KOLKATA: Just ahead of Independence Day, the Bengali film industry has received one of its most prized gifts from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. A long-time champion of Tollywood, the CM has now made it mandatory for every cinema hall and multiplex in the state to screen at least one Bengali film during prime time, every single day of the year.

The order comes just days after minister Aroop Biswas met leading producers, directors and theatre owners at Nandan, where the decision was first discussed. On Wednesday, Biswas confirmed that the state government has officially sealed the rule, making it binding on all theatre owners. He was joined at Nandan by minister Indranil Sen, actor Rituparna Sengupta, and others.

For years, Bengali filmmakers, producers and actors have fought for prime-time slots, often losing out to big-ticket Bollywood or South Indian releases. The problem came to a head recently when Dev and Subhashree’s much-anticipated comeback film ‘Dhumketu’ was allegedly blocked from getting a single show in some theatres because distributors of the Hindi film ‘War 2’ demanded all four single-screen slots for themselves.

Last week, Dev, Rituparna, and several other industry members sat down with Biswas to address the issue. Now, the state’s directive is clear: every screen in Bengal must run at least one Bengali film between 3 pm and 9 pm daily. According to the order: “In every cinema hall, and in all screens (each screen) of every multiplex situated in this State, 365 prime time shows/screenings of

Bengali films shall mandatorily be held throughout the year, with at least one Bengali show per day for all 365 days during the year.”

Industry voices say this will end the era of Bengali films having to take a back seat to Hindi or South Indian blockbusters. At a time when the state is fighting against linguistic terrorism, Banerjee’s decision is being hailed as a game-changing step to protect and promote Bengali cinema.

“CM Mamata Banerjee has always stood by the Bengali film industry. From now on, every day, between 3 pm and 9 pm, the new prime time, every screen must play at least one Bengali film. This is the government’s way of ensuring Bengali cinema reaches more audiences,” Biswas said.