On a Wednesday afternoon, Bimal Chowdhury (name changed), a septuagenarian technician, sat muttering to himself in a corner of a studio in south Kolkata’s Tollygunge, the hub of the Bengali film industry. The sets of the studio, usually abuzz with actors practising dialogues, seemed rather quiet. “Only six months back we did not have time to breathe because of work pressure. Now, I barely get any work,” Mr. Chowdhury said.
Indeed, all is not well in the industry. After the arrest of Rose Valley chairman Gautam Kundu in March 2015 in the chit fund scam, the organisation, which invested crores in the industry, slowly started to withdraw funds. By mid-2016, the company had cancelled contracts of several projects amounting to nearly Rs. 500 crore. Industry insiders the number of films released per month had come down to a mere three from 10.
Many projects shelved
Speaking to The Hindu , a former assistant director in films, who wished not to be named, said, “Ever since the funding started to dry up, many projects have been shelved and I have had no choice but to work in daily soaps.”
Industry workers said even budget amounts had dipped substantially.
“From Rs. 4-5 crore few years ago, it has now come down to Rs. 1 crore or even less, said Bijoy Majhi, an assistant director. Many directors said the withdrawal of funds from the industry would have severe repercussions in the long run.
“ Unlike foreign film industries there is no proper rules here for investing in films. Many of the payments here are done in cash, which is gone,” said Sagnik Chatterjee, who is making a film on Satyajit Ray’s sleuth, Feluda.
According to the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India, which has more than 6,000 members in Bengal, the lack of funds due to the withdrawal of Rose Valley from the industry has jeopardised the livelihood of nearly 10,000 technicians. Aparna Ghatak, the general secretary of the federation, said, “While nearly 60 Bengali films were released in 2015, the number of films came down significantly in 2016.”
Blessing in disguise
There were, however, others who believe that the situation would benefit the industry in the long run.
Notable director Atanu Ghosh termed the withdrawal of Rose Valley funds as a “blessing in disguise”.
“The faster such dubious funding is removed from the industry the better,” he said.
He added that unless the industry could come out from the shadow of such “questionable” producers, the standard of work here would never improve.
“All these people want is to turn their black money into white by investing in films,” Mr. Ghosh said.
Another prominent director, Indranil Roychowdhury, “welcomed” the withdrawal of funding from ponzischemes. “Not just Rose Valley, but several chit fund companies used the Bengali film industry to gain the trust of rural depositors and usurped their savings,” he said. He added that the chit fund firms would use their association with the silver screen to increase their credibility in rural Bengal.
