Is cinema only entertainment?

It was a gripping subject that got the motley crowd gathered at Nandan hooked on Sunday evening. A host of actors and musicians came together at Mukta Mancha to debate on the topic — Cinema Ki Sudhui Binodon? Anirban Bhattacharya, Arindom Chatterjee, Soham, Paayel Sarkar, Lagnajita Chakraborty and Sourav Chakraborty were locked in a battle of words, while Parambrata moderated the debate. Talking about how gladiators used to entertain the audiences in the Roman republic, Anirban said, “Cinema is a mode of communication.”

Both Soham and Paayel, popular faces of mainstream Tollywood, harped on the entertainment quotient of cinema.About commodification of women in cinema, Paayel said, “Even Shah Rukh Khan has endorsed a fairness product, why should commodification be used only in the context of women?” Arindom, however, was unapologetic as he said, “Films are a stress-buster for me. I compose songs for the masses as I want my creativity to spread.” Sourav said entertainment is a relative term. “What is entertainment to you might be boring for me and vice versa,” said the actor. The debate was laced with songs by Lagnajita and the audience lapped them up.