Actor and convenor of FICCI Frames, eastern region, Prosenjit Chatterjee, has been witness to some of the biggest changes that have taken place in the film industry of Bengal in recent years. In a telephone interview to the Business Standard he said the opening up of the Bangladesh market will give a big boost to the industry
As an actor who stood up to many of the challenges facing the Bengali film industry, can you share some numbers that show the way ahead?
The film industry in Bengal has grown tremendously in the last seven-eight years. Over the next five years, I anticipate an average annual growth rate of 70-80 per cent. From 30-35 films a year, we have grown to a level where at least 100-105 films are being made every year. Many young Bengali actors and directors are getting noticed nationally. For example, Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani.
Budgets have quadrupled, glossy overseas locations have replaced local backdrops and experimentation is the name of the game. What else has changed?
Yes, we see a lot of overseas locations in our films these days. My last film Aparajita Tumi was shot abroad completely. This trend has come with the younger lot of actors, whose films have a lot of songs and dance situations. The biggest thing is the amount of money producers are willing to spend — sometimes running into Rs 30 to Rs 40 lakh per songs — which immediately improves the prospect of recovery.
How has the film industry in Bengal evolved over the years?
I started as a child actor with black and white films and I have seen how things changed with the advent of colour and now cinemascope. It is technology which has been the key to all this change. Theatres have also improved here-it shows in the rising number of multiplexes. Earlier, the average budget of a film used to be around Rs 20 to Rs 25 lakh, which has increased to Rs 5 to Rs 6 crore now. Today, a movie is treated like any other product with professionals guiding the marketing strategy.
From the commercial mess of the 90s to the well-organised production house-led flicks that are being churned out today-there seems to be real makeover effort at work.
I have always advocated that cinema should be treated as an industry. That is why I decided to take on the task of heading the entertainment group of FICCI eastern region. I believe, along with elements like culture and art, we should also keep the commercial aspect of a film top of mind – art can be sustained if the industry exists in the first place.
There was a time when people thought that the Bengali film industry has been driven to the ground and that viewers were switching to films made in other languages. Yes, at some point Bengal’s industry was headed in that direction, but the whole industry fought back and I consider myself as one of those soldiers. I would say, I have taken it upon myself to fight many of the challenges to highlight the fact that this should be treated like any other business.
What do you consider more important for a film — commercial success or critical acclaim?
During the earlier part of my career, I had the opportunity to work with people like Tarun Majumdar. Then I moved towards the commercial variety — with fights, action the works. There was a time when we had a clear distinction between a mainstream film and the so called parallel films. But when I started doing films like Chokher Bali, we understood that there is an audience that would want to watch artistic films wrapped in a commercial package. Today, the success of films like Baishe Srabon and Autograph has proved that without doubt. I believe we have to focus on the young generation. That is what I am doing in my own productions.
You have ventured into production now. As a producer what do you see as your biggest task now?
Yes, I have just produced a film with a bunch of new actors. I have been trying to change the face of industry with fresh talent. My production house will not cast me in the lead. I am going ahead with subjects through which I can promote young artistes.
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As the convenor of FICCI Frames, do you think corporate investments could change the future of Tollywood, if we may use the term? Though firms like Reliance and Zee Motion Pictures have tried their luck in Bengal, we haven’t really seen much in terms of big corporate initiatives here…
Reliance is coming back again, though it did not make money in its earlier efforts. You see, corporates have to come back because the industry needs change. You need a big heart and creativity, and not look at the balance sheet all the time.
Though it has grown quite a lot in recent years, the film industry in Bengal is still way behind Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam as far as revenue generation in concerned. How long before we see the tide turning?
If you make a movie in Tamil you can release it across the southern states; not so for Bengali films. In that sense we have a smaller market to start with. Having said that, we have a huge market in Bangladesh and things will change if that market opens up. I must add, things are improving. For example, Moner Manush was a joint venture between the two countries and it was a huge success. I think the market will open up soon and it will be good for both the countries. Now we have to deal with two different entities for the two countries — with one releasing here and the other in Bangladesh. When that constraint is removed, we will be able to rise up to the standards of any other industry.
