Bangla film releases now have competition from past masters
Times of India | 16 March 2025
Kolkata: Sharmila Tagore-starrer ‘Puratawn' releases on April 11. It remains ambiguous whether the Suman Ghosh film will secure a theatrical release while Tagore's ‘Nayak' continues its second run in cinemas. Should this occur, it will exemplify the substantial hurdles contemporary Bengali cinema faces in acquiring screens and favourable show timings amidst numerous triumphant re-releases of restored cult films.
Productions customarily strategise keeping competition from contemporary films in consideration. Independent filmmakers have consistently complained about their content's marginalisation owing to influence from major production houses or Hindi and South releases. Now they are confronted with the formidable challenge of enticing audiences, occasionally afflicted with FOMO, who queue up in substantial numbers for re-releases of ‘Nayak', ‘Mahanagar', ‘Jab We Met', ‘Rockstar', ‘Tumbbad', and ‘Veer Zara'. Also in the pipeline is the re-release of Ray's ‘Joi Baba Felunath'.
The struggle transcends beyond mere nostalgia. The competition is with cinema that was filmed over an extended duration that's in stark contrast to the prevailing culture of shooting films within a fortnight in Tollywood. Some perceive this as unfair competition. Others observe that the releases are captivating viewers otherwise disinclined towards theatre visits. But these visits make them prone to comparing the quality of cult films and contemporary Bengali cinema.
Those who watched ‘Nayak' are discussing Ray's masterful direction alongside Subrata Mitra's exemplary cinematography and Bansi Chandragupta's brilliant art direction. They are commending how the classic illustrates the distinction between theatrical and natural acting in cinema — a problem many contemporary Bangla films have where actors confuse ‘outstanding' performance with acts where they ‘stand out' by relying on melodrama. "There can't be any competition with institutions like Satyajit Ray and Uttam Kumar," said ‘Dhrubor Aschorjo Jibon' actor Rishav Basu. "While this trend is concerning for us, it also gives us an opportunity to hone our craft," he added.
Sudipta Laha's ‘Karon Greece Amader Desh Na Athoba Blue-Black O Transparent White', which featured Uttam Kumar's grandson, Gourab Chatterjee, in the cast, released on the same day as ‘Nayak'. "This is a unique challenge. We advanced our premiere owing to concerns about how all the attention on our release date would gravitate towards ‘Nayak'. I tried to work on a new film language and aesthetics. My film neither has songs nor background music. Yet, I couldn't secure a single primetime show. I can't even express grievance about this predicament since no one will sympathise when my competition is a cult film," Laha said.
Some, like ‘Mayanagar' director Aditya Vikram Sengupta, admit that the feeling is ‘strange'. "If a thousand people watch ‘Nayak' and just 50 watch mine, I still have no space to feel sad. I am happy to lose out to a master. People should make space for all kinds of films. I feel you will end up connecting with at least a limited number of people if you are honest with yourself and have worked hard towards something. It is sad that it doesn't happen because of the financial issues since the number of shoot days is less, stories are half-baked, and people can't devote enough time to the film," Sengupta said.