Bengali films lose out to Hindi in year’s last ‘showdown’
Times of India | 1 January 2026
Kolkata: Stakeholders in Tollywood have sought an appointment with the Commissioner of Police on Tuesday to request a probe into the misuse of social media and trolling aimed at undermining the film business. However, many are wondering if allegations of sabotage are being used to avoid discussion on the quality of contemporary Bengali films.
Tollywood trade remains weak despite the state's move to reserve a prime-time show for Bengali films and create a screening panel. Puja releases— ‘Raghu Dakat', ‘Raktabeej 2', ‘Devi Chowdhurani' and ‘Joto Kando Kolkatatei' — weren't superhits. Christmas films — ‘Projapoti 2', ‘Lawho Gouranger Naam Rey' and ‘Mitin: Ekti Khunir Sandhaney' — couldn't compete with ‘Dhurandar' which remained steady despite releasing on Dec 5.
Incidentally, inaccurate information about a Bengali film's box-office performance makes the situation complex. Producer Rana Sarkar noted that in Bengal, maximum gross business a film can do is Rs 3 crore in a week. "But we often see inflated/fake figures being promoted by PR agencies to change perception. A Bengali movie channel is shutting down within six months of launch. Another has stopped acquiring Bengali films. Bengali films made on a satellite price of Rs 3-4 crore are failing to secure OTT or satellite buyers because advertisers are unlikely to generate sufficient revenue to recover costs after telecast," Sarkar said.
For sometime now, Tollywood has been facing problems from unruly fan clubs, especially online, including complaints about crude trolling, threats against star kids, and personal attacks degrading women. Offline, fans disrupt ticket counters, aggressively demanding extra shows for favourite actors. There are also allegations of agencies manipulating online ticketing via negative rankings. Tuesday's meeting is expected to address these concerns.
For some years now, Tollywood has been promoting films by amplifying positive online reviews. A common tactic is flooding platforms with praise whenever negative reviews appear. As theatre attendance declines, insecurity around box-office performance has grown. This has coincided with rising fan-club aggression and coordinated efforts to control narratives online. "This is the first year where we hear open allegations about competing makers hiring agencies to post negative reviews of films immediately to demolish a rival," Sarkar said.
Yet, it would be unfair to blame trolls for Tollywood's underperformance without also addressing the limited time devoted to screenplay writing and making. Tollywood has adopted a new formula of completing feature-film shoots within 14 days on the grounds that the market is small. "While corners are cut, producers continue to bleed since the remuneration of some directors, stars, actors and technicians don't go down," Sarkar said. Another insider pointed at the damage that war of words in Tollywood is doing to its image. "People with swollen egos are fighting among themselves. Once-rebels are changing sides and blaming the rest of the world for ‘misunderstanding'. Time has come to introspect," said an insider.