Release of Mumbai-based director’s film: Kunal questions Tollywood’s silence

KOLKATA: Amidst the ongoing protests by Tollywood celebrities demanding justice for the RG Kar Hospital rape-murder case, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kunal Ghosh criticised Bengali filmmakers and actors for their silence on the release of Mumbai-based director Sanoj Mishra’s film, ‘The Diary

of West Bengal’.

On Thursday, the Calcutta High Court permitted the release of the movie, which is set against the backdrop of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Ghosh accused the film of tarnishing Bengal’s image, spreading a false narrative and provoking communal tensions. “Will the industry, especially those associated with the TMC, remain silent? Will the Bengali film industry not protest?” questioned the TMC

leader on Friday.

He also said in the Mumbai film industry, many producers and actors make political films that create a narrative favourable to the BJP. “Now, there’s a similar smear campaign targeting Bengali cinema. While actors and actresses in Tollywood who are close to Mamata Banerjee focus on building their own image and maintaining professionalism, they don’t think about making biopics of the CM or making films that support the TMC,” said Ghosh. He also called Tollywood celebs ‘opportunists’ who do not do so.

However, Ghosh’s comments did not sit well with Tollywood. Senior filmmaker Haranath Chakraborty, mentioned that he had earlier directed ‘Pratibad’ in which Laboni Sarkar essayed the role of the current CM. Another of his films, ‘Tulkalam’, centered around the Singur-Nandigram movement and starred Mithun Chakraborty in the lead role. “The CM will always find the support of Tollywood whenever needed,” Haranath said.

Meanwhile, filmmaker Nehal Dutta, who directed ‘Baghini’ in 2019, a film based on Mamata Banerjee’s journey, said he is in talks for another film on the CM.