Parambrata Chatterjee finally addressed Anurag Kashyap’s criticism of Bengali cinema during the first edition of the SCREEN LIVE session in Kolkata, where he joined filmmaker Srijit Mukherji. Responding to Anurag’s “ghatia” (poor) remark, Parambrata acknowledged the decline in attention towards mainstream commercial Bengali cinema, highlighting the changing landscape of the industry. The Kahaani actor emphasises that the health of mainstream cinema is closely linked to the success of its alternate cinema. ‘Disgusted’: Anurag Kashyap Plans To Relocate From Mumbai to South, Expresses Displeasure With S Shankar’s Views on ‘Game Changer’ (Watch Video).
Parambrata said, “We have stopped focusing on mainstream commercial Bengali cinema. If mainstream cinema in any industry doesn’t work, then it is very difficult to make any other kind of film. Because the audience size should be that big that you can eat out of that. Our kind of cinema (alternative cinema) thrives on surplus. If there is no steady inflow, then there is no surplus. There is an alienation that happened in 2011. While Bengali cinema was seeing a resurgence of sorts through filmmakers like Srijit da, Kaushik Ganguly and others, who were making middle road Bengali films, the industry unexpectedly shifted away from making big massy Bengali entertainers.” He added, “Very loosely and carelessly made South remakes were dished out to the masses. Audience didn’t react to that very well as they found the same films being dubbed in Hindi and being aired on national channels, so they didn’t want to go back and watch these cheap Bengali remakes of South films. The audience size of Bengali cinema kept reducing. Big chunk of West Bengal doesn’t watch Bengali cinema because they feel nobody cares about them. So, it is important that mass entertainers are made in Bengali cinema and that they fetch money so that other kind of cinema can be made.” ‘Maharaja’: Netizens Are in Awe of ‘Anurag Kashyap the Actor’ After Seeing His Performance in Climax of Vijay Sethupathi’s Tamil Thriller.
Anurag Kashyap Criticises Decline in Bengali Cinema’s Quality
Anurag Kashyap expressed concerns over the drop in Bengali cinema’s quality. He made these remarks at the inauguration of the first Kolkata French Film Festival and during a seminar, last year. He said, “The fall in the quality of Hindi films is a fall from the first floor. Bengali films used to be in a far higher position. And hence, the fall is so evident.”
(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on Jan 26, 2025 09:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).