KOLKATA: Social media has for two weeks been abuzz with complaints from two film-makers about Nandan screenings. Arjunn Dutta, whose ‘Deep Fridge' won the Best Bengali Feature Film at the National Awards, questioned why his film was slotted for a 1-pm show. Pratim D Gupta claimed he was told "better films" were picked and that Nandan would not screen his film, ‘Ranna Bati'. This has led to a demand for transparency in Nandan's method of choosing films and allotting shows.
Dutta on Nov 20 questioned the logic behind the 1-pm slot for his film, starring Abir Chatterjee, Tnusree Chakraborty, Debjani Chatterjee and Anuradha Mukherjee. "My film was adjudged the best Bengali feature film at the National Award. What more does a Bengali film have to do to get a 6 pm slot? I genuinely don't understand if anyone would actually pause their lunch to watch our film at Nandan at 1 pm. For directors like me, Nandan is truly invaluable. I will continue to fight tooth and nail!" Dutta said.
Gupta's film was submitted during its release week, coinciding with the closure of Nandan for KIFF. After it reopened, he found that apart from ‘Deep Fridge', films released both before and after ‘Ranna Bati' were given shows. "Annapurna Basu's ‘Sharthopor', starring Koel Mullick and Kaushik Sen, was screened at 3 pm, while ‘Lakshmikantapur Local', with Rituparna Sengupta, Kaushik Ganguly, Indraneil Sengupta, Paoli Dam, Sayani Ghosh and Madan Mitra, was screened at 5.30 pm. My film was rejected in favour of what were deemed ‘better films'. While cinematic merit is subjective, looking at the current schedule makes one wonder about the transparency of the selection criteria," Gupta told TOI.
Several indie film-makers expressed dissatisfaction with the hosting of an Uttam Kumar retrospective with ‘Pushpadhanu', ‘Ekhane Pinjar' and ‘Chhinna Patra' at Nandan 2, rather than at Nandan 3, which does not allow ticketed shows of new Bengali films. "The retrospective could have been accommodated at Nandan 3, allowing independent films to be showcased at Nandan 2. It is disheartening to see an institution, built to nurture indie cinema, prioritising archival content over new releases," Gupta added.
Nandan CEO was at "a meeting" and unavailable for comments.
According to a source, films for Nandan screening are decided by a committee, comprising Nirmal Dhar, Shoma A Chatterji, Haranath Chakraborty, Prabhat Roy, Sudeshna Roy, Premendu Bikash Chaki and Ananya Chakraborti. It's a tough job as all Bengali films aspire to get the 6-pm Nandan 1 slot. "This panel is responsible for evaluating which censored films are ‘aesthetically suited' for the ‘Nandan audience'. At least three panel members view each film, followed by a session. There is no formal rating system," the source said. About exemption of Bengali films that received National Awards or international acclaim or those awarded or selected at KIFF, the source added, "The panel never disregarded a National Award-winning film. But not all films featured in KIFF's Bengali panorama are automatically selected. This committee does not decide on the screening schedules."