Ranchi, April 16: A Bengali film was screened at a movie theatre here yesterday after a gap of 25 long years. But the internationally acclaimed work by Rituparno Ghosh, Chokher Bali, evoked a tepid response.

Based on Rabindranath Tagore’s novel of the same name, the film has Aishwarya Rai in the lead. Assistant manager of Sujata theatre Shekhar Jha said, “The last time any Bengali film was screened in Ranchi was in the late 70s. ”

The theatre had hoped to cash in on Poila Baishakh, the Bengali New Year and had put out ads in newspapers, besides pasting posters and banners on the city walls.

Members of the Bengali community say they are starved of good cinema and blame the timing of the show for the lukewarm response.

“We are happy that a Bengali film is being shown in Ranchi but the problem is the timing. The film is screened at 9.30 in the morning. Moreover, there is only one show a day. Luckily, today was my off and so I have come with my entire family”, said Siddharth Dey. Film buff S.K. Mazumdar was full of praise for the film. “It has deviated from the original story but the end result is convincing. It’s a must-watch for Bengalis out here,” he said.

“The film will do good business if it’s an evening show. Wait for Sunday and you will see a heavy turn out,” said a member of the audience.