Shemaroo plans Bengali film foray

The fate of Bengali movies is set to change, if Shemaroo Entertainment's plans are anything to go by.

Shemaroo Films, the movie production and distribution arm of Shemaroo Entertainment, that was till recently focused primarily on the home entertainment space, is all set to revive Bengali movies in terms of digitally-made quality movie prints as well as offer its audiences quality spaces for comfortable viewing.

"Regional language movies have a lot of potential for growth if positioned properly. They also need to be directed well, have as good a storyline as successful Bollywood movies as well as need to be digitally made so that the movie looks good on screen," said Roshni Sen, assistant vice-president "� marketing, Shemaroo Entertainment.

People these days avoid watching Bengali movies because of two reasons. One because the prints are of poor quality, and second because there is perhaps not a single movie theatre right now in West Bengal which is in a good condition so people can watch movies in comfort.

Shemaroo Films, therefore, has tied up with Inox Movies to not only offer quality viewing but also promote the movies on the national level.

"Another problem with promoting a Bengali or any regional language movie on a national level is the language itself since we cannot expect all other regions to understand it. Therefore, Shemaroo is going to use subtitles for its first Bengali venture, Anuranan," pointed out Sen.

Scheduled for release on July 6 this year with close to 10 prints in all of Kolkata, Anuranan has used 30 per cent English and subtitles for the rest for people who do not understand Bengali.

Another reason why a lot of people avoid watching Bengali movies is because the movie itself looks so shabby. Shemaroo has therefore shot the movie in exotic locales in London and India to give it a modern, sophisticated look.

Shemaroo is also talking to several telecom service providers for ringtone downloads of Anuranan's various songs.

Shemaroo is also looking at a worldwide distribution of its regional language movies.

According to industry estimates, of a total of 800 films released per year in India at least 43 are Bengali movies which require an investment of close to Rs 40 crore.

The total movie market in India stands at close to $6.5 billion right now and is expected to go up to $11 billion by 2011.