The West Bengal government has sought a report from cinema halls on the number of Bengali films they have screened each fiscal year since 2019, The Times of India reported on Thursday.

In an order dated April 4, the state’s information and cultural affairs department asked the multiplexes and single-screen cinema hall owners to submit the report by April 30.

Cinema halls in the state have to screen at least one Bengali movie during the prime time for a minimum of 120 days a year, according to a 2018 notification by the state government. Prime time slots are between 12 pm and 9 pm.

Bengali films have not been getting enough screen time in multiplexes after several single-screen theatres were closed in the state, according to The Millennium Post.

On March 28, Producer Firdausul Hasan sent a letter to the state government asking for support to release more Bengali films.

“Many states offer incentives and mandatory screen timings for shows of regional films,” he wrote. “I am not expecting tax rebates. But some multiplexes in Kolkata don’t even give shows to Bengali films.”

Hasan said that the multiplexes argue that they do not get enough viewers if they run Bengali films.

“If a Bengali film doesn’t have viewers in Bengal, will we go to screen them in Bihar?” he asked. “Unless they give shows, how will viewers get interested in our cinema? I am happy that the government is making an effort to promote our cinema.”

Bengali actor Dev Adhikari had also complained about Bengali films not getting enough screen time, reported India Today.

“If they [cinema hall owners] say Bollywood films will have 90% occupancy, for 10% occupancy for our films, we have to make 10 calls to say give us at least one show,” Adhikari said. “Why are you not giving us fair play? Give us one week [to screen Bengali films], throw it out after that.”

Tollywood welcomes move

Meanwhile, the Bengali cinema industry, also called Tollywood, welcomed the government’s April 4 order.

Eastern India Motion Pictures Association President Piya Sengupta told The Times of India that her organisation had discussed the matter of government monitoring whether Bengali films were getting mandatory screening times in the cinemas.

“Big production houses might not have problems getting primetime slots for Bengali movies, but smaller ones which may have some gems complain about not getting shows,” she said.

Director Indranil Roy Chowdhury said that unless 50% of regional films are screened between 4 pm and 9 pm at cinema halls, the Bengali movie industry will not benefit much.

“The mandatory screening of Marathi movies in Maharashtra immediately led to big corporate houses producing Marathi films because the screen time was assured,” he said. “That led to a resurgence in that industry. I foresee a similar resurgence in Tollywood if the government toes this line.”

Single-screen cinema halls have to screen 112 Marathi shows every year in Maharashtra and multiplexes 122, Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India president Nitin Datar told The Times of India.

Owner of Navina cinema hall Navin Chowkhani said that between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, his theatre gave screen time to 492 Bengali films.

“They have run for 41 weeks,” he said. “That means 287 days of screening of Bengali cinema in the 2019-’20 financial year. All our Bengali film screenings have been between 2 pm and 7 pm.”

However, Chowkhani had earlier argued against the government mandate of screening Bengali films.

He had told The Times of India that the collection from movies gave him a fair idea of what the audience wants to see. Chowkhani had asked why only theatre owners were being singled out to support Bengali content.

“No other retailer in Kolkata is asked to mandatorily sell products from Bengal,” he added. “Kolkata’s multi-cuisine restaurants have no mandate asking them to have a certain percentage of Bengali dishes. Sari shop owners are not told to sell or promote Bengal loom.”