Every cinema screen in Bengal, including those in plexes, will have
to show at least one Bengali film between 3pm and 9pm, “prime time” in entertainment parlance.

The government on Wednesday issued a notification that said: “In every Cinema hall, and all screens (each screen) of every multiplex situated in this State, 365 (Three hundred and Sixty Five) prime time shows/screenings of Bengali films shall mandatorily be held throughout the year with at least one Bengali show per day for all 365 days during the year”.

Prime-time shows refer to screenings between 3pm and 9pm, the notice issued by Santanu Basu, the principal secretary of the information and cultural affairs department, said.

The notification was shared at a meeting held at Nandan on Wednesday. Ministers Aroop Biswas and Indranil Sen presided over the meeting.

The meeting was the second in a week. The first took place on August 7, following a letter some of the leading names in Tollygunge had written to the chief minister, alleging discrimination in the allotment of slots to Bengali films. Most of the prime-time slots would be allocated to big-budget Hindi films, the letter said.

“Bengali films will get primacy in Bengal,” minister Biswas had said after the August 7 meeting. He linked the assertion to the campaign launched by chief minister Mamata Banerjee protesting the alleged assault on Bengali-speaking people, mostly part of the informal workforce, in BJP-ruled states.

Exhibitors welcomed Wednesday’s notice.

“It is a welcome step. The exhibitors have come forward. Now, it is up to the content creators to up their game,” said Arijit Dutta, managing director, Priya Cinema.

The Bengali film industry is limping. The number of films made annually has been shrinking. A section of filmmakers and actors has blamed the slide on the alleged high-handedness of a federation of technicians.

Deciding the crew size for a shoot, imposing curbs on productions from outside Bengal, declaring holidays at hours’ notice, and unilaterally “banning” people, the federation has been acting as a regulatory body, actors and filmmakers said.

A section of filmmakers has moved Calcutta High Court. The matter is sub-judice.

“The government has allocated 50 per cent of the prime time slot for Bengali films, but there have to be enough films. How this thing plays out will be clearer after at least six months,” said a film distributor who requested not to be named.

Firdausul Hasan, the president of the Film Federation of India and producer of several award-winning Bengali films, said: “Bengali is the seventh most spoken language in the world. Bengali films should live up to that scale and reach a much wider audience. This is a step in the right direction”.