Bengali film fraternity urges Mamata Banerjee to protect local cinema from Bollywood’s influence

Leading figures from the Bengali film industry have reached out to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, calling for immediate intervention to ensure equitable screen time for regional films, amid mounting concerns over the sidelining of Bengali releases in local theatres.

In a letter addressed to the CM, prominent actors Prosenjit Chatterjee and Dev, along with filmmakers Kaushik Ganguly and Srijit Mukherji, and producers Shrikant Mohta and Nispal Singh, alleged that regional films are being consistently pushed out of prime-time slots in favour of big-budget Bollywood releases.

The immediate trigger appears to be the upcoming box-office clash between Kaushik Ganguly's "Dhumketu", starring Dev and Subhashree Ganguly, and the Hindi film "War 2", featuring Hrithik Roshan and Kiara Advani. Both films are slated to release on August 14.

According to the signatories, distributors of "War 2" have allegedly directed theatre owners in Bengal to allot all four daily shows to the Bollywood release, thereby sidelining "Dhumketu" and potentially eliminating its access to peak-time screenings — a move they claim has become a recurring pattern.

"In recent years, producers and distributors of major Hindi films have made it a practice to impose strict screening conditions on theatres in Bengal," the letter stated. "They threaten to withdraw their films if Bengali movies are shown alongside — a tactic not tolerated in Maharashtra, Punjab, or the southern states. This discriminatory practice seems to be unique to Bengal."

The signatories argued that such commercial coercion is eroding the position of Bengali cinema in its market and urged the government to enact regulations that guarantee regional films access to theatres and prime-time slots.

"This is about our language, our culture, and our identity," the letter added. "Without government support, Bengali cinema risks being permanently marginalised."

In response, state minister Aroop Biswas has called an industry meeting today at Nandan to address the growing concerns and explore possible solutions with stakeholders.

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