I used to shoot at Ramoji, Hyderabad is like second home for me: Bengali star Prosenjit

HYDERABAD: Tollywood may be a namesake for the two regional film industries in West Bengal and Telangana, but new Bengali productions are mostly up for grabs in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, going by the observation of Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee, aka Bumba Da, who was in the city to grace the maiden chapter of Telangana Bengali Film Festival - ‘Aayna 2017’ - organised by Hyderabad Bangalee Samity in association with the Telangana government and The Times of India.Over 1,000 people turned up at Prasad Labs Preview Theatre to see the screening of his four hits, along with other films.
Speaking to TOI, the renowned actor who has completed over three decades in the film industry asserted that the young generations in Hyderabad and Bangaluru are mostly enthusiastic about the Bengali productions, even if they don’t know the language well. “If Chinese people watch Hindi films like PK, then why should Telugu people not watch Bengali films? The film fest is no doubt a good initiative and I hope it will scale up greater heights in the next five years with the joint efforts of Bengali community and locals. At the same time, we will have to take our productions to a next level for the growth of such film fests outside West Bengal,”he said.
The conversation with the actor started on a nostalgic note as he has had a strong bond with Hyderabad and Telugu film industry down the years. “I still remember the shoots at Ramoji Film City and the days I spent with L V Prasad and D Ramanaidu. Once I used to stay in Hyderabad for one or two months at a stretch and was mobbed in streets several times. So, Hyderabad is a second home for me. I worked with Prasad Productions and my most successful work in D Ramanaidu’s production is ‘Sudhu Ekbar Bolo’ released in 1999. Though the shooting for my new film ‘Drishtidan’ is going on, I could not resist the temptation to come to the city of Nizams,” he added.