With the improvement in the COVID situation, 100 Bengali films were released in theatres since January 2022 and seven of them were hits, showing a “satisfactory” success rate, an industry official said.Besides these seven, four-five others did decent business, said an official of the Eastern India Motion Picture Association (EIMPA), an association of various stakeholders of the Bengali film industry.
“The success rate of six-seven per cent for a hall release is satisfactory considering the limited market for Bengali films. We have to compete mainly with Hindi films and that has a bigger distribution chain,” the EIMPA official told PTI.
Five films with varied contents became hits Aparajito (Undefeated), Karnasubarner Guptodhan (Treasure of Karnasubarna), Ballabhpurer Roopkotha (Fairytale of Ballabhpur), Kishmish (Raisin) and Dostojee (Two friends) in 2022. Two others - Projapati (Search for a Friend) and The Eken Ruddhaswas Rajasthan (The Eken Suspense in Rajasthan) were major grossers this year.
“While Aparajito, Ballabhpurer Roopkatha, Karnasubarner Guptadhan ran for around two months in more than 30 theatres with full houses on weekends, Karnasubarner Guptodhan and Dostojee ran for one and half months recording a steady turnout of audiences in weekly evening shows and weekend noon, evening shows," said the official. Films like The Eken, X=Prem and Belashuru (The Beginning), Hatyapuri (Murder in Puri) and Haami 2 (Kiss 2) received decent responses in 2022 with over 60 per cent occupancy in some theatres for three weeks,” he said.
Superstar Jeet’s Chengiz, which was released both in Bengali and Hindi languages on this year’s Eid, did have 40-50 per cent occupancy on average in theatres in the Bengal territory and around 10 per cent at all India level. The EIMPA official said that from March to December 2020, only 11 films were released - but with a 50 per cent cap on occupancy in theatres and fear of infection from coronavirus, many people stayed away and settled for OTT.
Projapoti, starring Mithun Chakraborty and Dev, went on to become the biggest blockbuster in 2023 running houseful in theatres for over 100 days till March, the official who is also the owner of a single-screen theatre in Kolkata said. Dev said: “The success of Projapoti should not be celebrated in isolation. If a film becomes a blockbuster or even becomes a hit, there is a trickle-down effect for the entire Bengali film industry. The feel-good factor has to be important. I wish all other films do well.”
The co-producer of Projapoti, Atanu Roy Choudhury said the coming back of audiences to the theatres is a good sign for the entire industry. Director Anik Dutta said the success of his Aparajito, which re-traced the making of Satyajit Ray’s iconic film Pather Panchali in the early-1950s, reaffirmed the confidence about good response by audiences if they are provided with rich content after the Covid-19 disruption.
“The theatres were closed due to Covid for the major part of 2020-21 and the situation went for change only in 2022 and as the audiences went for revenge viewing flocking multiplexes and single screens. The content on offer has to be important. All of us must remember that,” Dev said.