While Hindi movies have not fared well at the box-office in Kolkata, it���������s sheer bonanza for Bengali cinema. So happy are some exhibitors with the response to Bengali movies during the festive season that one of them is even thinking of how to fit in ���������Ra.One��������� if the good run of Bengali movies continues at the box-office.
The Hindi movies that released and continued to run in Kolkata theatres during the festive season included ���������Mausam���������, ���������Force���������, ���������Rascals���������, ���������Love Breakups Zindagi���������, ���������Soundtrack���������, ���������Shaheb Biwi Aur Gangster���������, ���������Tere Mere Phere���������, ���������Hum Tum Shabana���������, ���������Chargesheet���������, ���������Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge���������, ���������My Friend Pinto���������, ���������Azaan���������, ���������Mod���������, ���������Jo Dooba So Paar ��������� It���������s Love in Bihar!��������� Exhibitors agree that while few of them had a good start considering the hype surrounding the stars, the rest sank without a trace.
But not only has ���������Baishey Srabon��������� got an overwhelming box-office response, others like ���������Icche��������� and ���������Rang Milanti��������� are still being screened at some theatres. ���������Icche���������, in fact, is on the verge of completing 100 days at the theatres. Says Arijit Dutta, the managing director of Priya Entertainment, ���������I am so happy with the response to Bengali cinema that both my theatres ��������� Priya and Star ��������� are not screening a single Hindi movie now. This week has three shows of ���������BS���������, one each of ���������Icche���������, ���������RM��������� and ���������Someday Somewhere���������.���������
While other theatres might not be screening ���������RM��������� and ���������SS���������, I see huge potential in Bengali cinema and will continue to screen them instead of Hindi movies till they complete at least 50 days. ���������Icche��������� is still running in both my theatres. I see, ���������BS��������� making at least 75 lakh from theatrical sales when it reaches 50 days. The Prosenjit-starrer is doing so well that I haven���������t yet confirmed whether I will screen ���������Ra.One��������� by cutting down on the number of shows of the Bengali movie. I shall take a call on this only after seeing this week���������s figures once I return to Kolkata from London.���������
Subhasis Ganguli, regional director, Inox, too agrees with Dutta and says that Bengali cinema is giving unexpectedly good business this festive season. ���������While ���������BS��������� has been consistently doing good business across the board. We had thought that the movie would not run that well in the suburbs but we were proven wrong. Mainstream Bengali movies, like ���������Phande Poriya Boga Kande Re��������� and ���������Hello Memsaheb��������� didn���������t have the expected number of takers in Burdwan. But the statistics for the so-called Bengali urban movies there is flattering to say the least. While ���������BS��������� is still running to packed capacity on weekends in certain plexes in Kolkata, we���������ve seen a rather lukewarm response to Hindi releases this week. This Friday���������s collection of Hindi releases didn���������t match up to the average collection figures that we have got from our earlier Hindi releases. So flattering are the figures that we are already raking our brains to figure out how best we can programme the timing of the forthcoming Bengali movies like ���������Royal Bengal Rahashya��������� and ���������Aparajita Tumi���������.���������
Says Kaushik Mukherjee, manager, marketing and sales, Fame India Limited, ���������Prosenjit���������s ���������Baishey Srabon��������� is doing exceptionally well. It will continue to do so in the coming weeks. We had four shows at South City and three at Hiland Park and one at Hind Cinema. We have retained the same number of shows in the second week.��������� Sources in Fame admit that films like ���������Force��������� and ���������Rascals��������� that were screened during the Pujas didn���������t do as good business as ���������BS���������. ���������On Friday, ���������MFK��������� still drew some college crowd. ���������My Friend Pinto��������� had some takers. We had expected that ���������Azaan��������� might attract with its thriller appeal. But nothing of that sort has happened. The same goes for ���������Mod���������, ���������Jo Dooba So Paar ��������� It���������s Love in Bihar!��������� In comparison, Bengali movies are running housefull.���������
Needless to say, Tolly directors are more than happy with this response. Says Kaushik Ganguly, ���������The collections have surpassed expectations. Even in the seventh week, ���������RM��������� is getting an occupancy of 50 per cent and 80 per cent at Priya and Star respectively. We are like
Rahul Dravid. Batting steadily.���������
Director Sanghamitra Chaudhuri says, ���������My film released on September 15 and it is still being screened at seven halls across Bengal. In Kolkata, it���������s screening at Priya, Star and Jayanti. ���������Mausam��������� was supposed to release along with us but its release date got pushed. While my small film is still sustaining itself for 25 days, ���������Mausam��������� has practically no takers. This speaks volumes about the response to Bengali cinema.���������
Director Srijit Mukherji is grinning ���������ear-toear��������� as the ���������BS��������� downpour continues. ���������Last year, ���������Autograph��������� drove three films away. The fact that exhibitors here are now thinking about whether to retain ���������BS��������� or not despite a monumental release like ���������Ra.One��������� is only showing how Kolkata has responded to the Bengali movies. On an average, any good Bengali movie is now doing business for three to four weeks. There is a huge paradigm shift and now even mainstream Bengali cinema is being elbowed out by ���������BS���������. Not only are the number of shows of ���������BS��������� being increased in Kolkata, 20 more halls have been increased across Bengal. Overall, it���������s great business season for Bengali movies now.���������