State govt to prioritise Bengali films in cinemas: Minister Aroop Biswas

Kolkata, Aug 8 (PTI) West Bengal government will ensure that Bengali movies are given equal priority in cinema halls as part of a broader initiative to promote the regional film industry, senior minister Aroop Biswas said after a meeting with prominent figures from the industry, including producers and distributors.

The move follows recent calls to protect Bengali asmita (identity, culture, and pride), especially in light of the Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s repeated allegations of harassment faced by Bengali-speaking migrants in some BJP-ruled states.

"We are in favour of more Bengali films being made and more people watching the films. Along with Hindi and English films, Bengali movies must get due pride of place in our cinema halls," he told reporters on Thursday.

Biswas said though some "important decisions were taken, those cannot be divulged at this stage".

Asked if the initiative coincides with the 'Bhasha Andolan' (language movement) spearheaded by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjeee to uphold 'Bengali Asmita', he said, "Every audience of Bengali films, every maker of Bengali films — many of them feted and acclaimed nationally and internationally — will feel outraged over the comments of BJP leaders like Amit Malviya regarding the language spoken by Bengalis in India and Bangladesh. He has insulted the languages spoken by icons like Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, Satyajit Ray, and others." Biswas, who is the state power and youth and sports affairs minister and close to the Bengali film industry, was flanked by actor-MP Dev and actor Rituparna Sengupta at the meeting at state culture complex Nandan, where the meeting was held.

Earlier, legendary Bengali actor Prosenjit Chatterjee and some other leading names in Tollygunge industry had written to the chief minister urging her to look into the disparities between allotment of show times to Bengali and Hindi films.

Dev said his upcoming film 'Dhumketu', directed by Kaushik Ganguly, is expected to receive around 50 per cent of the available shows — a trend he hopes will continue for future Bengali releases.

Interestingly, 'Dhumketu' is set to release around the same time as Ayan Mukerji’s War 2 — a major Bollywood production by Yash Raj Films, starring Hrithik Roshan and Kiara Advani. PTI SUS -- -- MNB