Anupam Kher has returned to Bengali cinema as a producer after 26 years, raising fresh hopes for a struggling industry.

The actor, producer and author is co-producing the Bengali film Shuru Theke Shuru, whose logo and teaser were unveiled at a city hotel on Friday afternoon. Kher, who has acted in more than 500 films, including Hollywood productions, is a former chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India and a Padma Bhushan awardee.

The title loosely translates to “starting from the beginning”. Kher last produced a Bengali film in 2000, when he backed Rituparno Ghosh’s Bariwali. His wife, Kirron Kher, played a lonely widow who inherits a crumbling mansion that is rented by a film crew. She won the National Award for Best Actress for her performance.

At the event, Kher said: “The title of the film is poignant. It is a new beginning for all of us and for the entire state. I met the chief minister this morning. He assured us of all the support.”

After the launch, he told Metro: “I heard horror stories from Bengal about how a union would extort money. I am an eternal optimist. My meeting with the chief minister was very encouraging. He said the industry would receive any help it needed, locations, permissions, everything.”

Kher has long been a vocal supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He told reporters he wanted to open a film school in Bengal and that Suvendu Adhikari had assured him of support.

Bengal finance minister Swapan Dasgupta briefly attended the launch.

“The image of the film industry in Bengal has been that it is stuck in a time warp, that it has got restrictive practices and that it is completely inhospitable to anyone else. That image needs to be broken... You need an environment. That was missing. We hope to bring that environment back. This is one film. But it is also a signal that Bengal is back. An industry must be profitable. In the past, there was a strong impression that Bengal was a very difficult place to do business. Same with films,” he said.

Directed by debutant Shamik Banerjee, Shuru Theke Shuru stars Rahul Bose, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Paoli Dam and Sneha Paul.

More than two years ago, leading figures in Bengali cinema alleged that a technicians’ federation owing allegiance to a Trinamool leader was disrupting the industry through diktats and work stoppages. The Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India (FCTWEI) was headed by Swarup Biswas, brother of former sports minister Aroop Biswas.

The disputes repeatedly stalled shoots, discouraged outside investment and led to legal challenges, while film production in Tollygunge steadily declined. Industry insiders said the roadmap for recovery after the BJP came to power in May hinges on restoring investor confidence.

“A two-pronged problem plagues our industry. There is no audience. There is no investment. But it is our responsibility to nurse the industry back to health. We have to make Bengal the creative hub of India. Bengali is the sixth most-spoken language in the world,” said Firdausul Hasan, who is co-producing the film with Kher.

“This is the first step towards bringing in more investment. A conducive environment needs to be created. We have been assured by the government of full support,” Hasan said.

Paoli expressed hope that the industry was on the path to recovery. She recalled how, a little over a year ago, the shooting of one of her Bengali films was called off because no technicians reported for work over a payment dispute. “When I started doing films, the environment was different. People from outside the state would invest here. I am not a product of mainstream films. I survived because there was space for independent films, because of independent investors, whether in Bengal or outside. That had stopped completely. The industry became politicised. Only a handful of people would get work.”.