Off-beat subjects rule at the Bengal box office

The first six months of 2017 hardly produced hit films. Till June 30, only one film — Posto — was a superhit, two films — Bisorjon and Bibaho Diaries — were hits and Durga Sohay managed to do better than average business. In the first half-yearly report published in CT on July 14, we had mentioned how just four films out of the 32 released till June 30 had managed to make a mark at the box office.But the latter half of the year was a lot more positive. Of the 40 films released between July 1 and December 30, six films have done well at the box office. Of these, Yeti Obhijaan was a superhit, while Amazon Obhijaan is well on the way to become the second one. Among the hits were Maacher Jhol, Sahaj Pather Goppo, Projapoti Biskut and Byokmesh O Agnibaan, while Cockpit did above average business.
We also spoke to the owners and managers of single-screen theatres and multiplexes to get the real picture. Here’s what they told us. Navin Choukhani, owner of Navina Cinema, said, “The scenario is not good in the Bengali film industry. Though the last six months were better, as a bunch of Puja films did good business, outand-out commercial films are just not working anymore. Only off-beat stories did well.”

2017 SAW MORE HITS THAN LAST YEAR
For instance, Yeti Obhijaan did superb business and Amazon Obhijaan is recreating that magic right now. Maacher Jhol and Projapoti Biskut also did well and so did Sahaj Pather Goppo,” said Choukhani.
Most hall owners were especially happy with the business generated by Puja releases. “Yeti Obhijaan, Byokmesh O Agniban, Projapoti Biskut and Sahaj Pather Goppo did good business. And now, Amazon Obhijaanis doing great, though only time will say if it’s a hit,” said Arijit Dutta from Priya Cinema.
Even Manik Banik, owner of Jaya Cinema, agreed that Yeti Obhijaanand Byokmesh O Agniban kept the box office cash registers ringing at his hall. “Cockpit too did quite well. And now it’s only Amazon Obhijaan! It’s going housefull,” he said with a smile.
According to Subhasis Ganguli, regional director, east, Inox, Yeti Obhijaan was a major box-office success, while Byokmesh O Agniban and Projapoti Biskut did decent business. “And now, Amazon Obhijaan is picking up fast and has a lot of potential to be a superhit,” he added.
On the other hand, Suranjan Paul, the owner of Bijoli and Minar, said Bolo Dugga Maiki did good business in his halls. “Amazon Obhijaan had a slow start, but has picked up really well. Even the classy audience is returning to theatres to watch it. During Puja, Byokmesh O Agniban and Projapoti Biskutkept the cash registers ringing. Samantaral too did good business in our halls,” Paul added.
Overall, the general trend that was apparent in the past six months is that films which had off-beat storylines fared really well at the BO. Almost all masala commercial flicks or remakes were washouts.
Bidisha Basu, owner of Prachi Cinema, told us that in her hall too, Cockpit did very good business, but would have done better if not released during the Pujas. “Yeti Obhijaan and Byokmesh O Agniban also fared very well. Projapoti Biskut started slow, but picked up later. Even Sahaj Pather Goppo did pretty well,” she said. To this, Nemai Panja, a prominent booking agent for the suburbs added, “Not many Bengali films are doing well in the suburbs, but Yeti Obhijaan, Bolo Dugga Maikiand Cockpit did well and now, Amazon Obhijaan is running housefull.”
HIGH-IMPACT FILMS OF 2017
POSTO: Highest revenue at the BO YETI OBHIJAAN: Panned by critics but did excellent business
BISORJON: Critics favourite and bagged almost all major awards of the year
SAHAJ PATHER GOPPO: Had a slow opening, but word of mouth took it far
AMAZON OBHIJAAN: A mega-budget film that’s doing really good business at the BO
BIBAHO DIARIES: After a muted opening, good content made it a hit