For many years, we have felt the urgent need to revive Bengal’s film industry.

Today, there is a sense of optimism because we have finally managed to identify the issues that have long throttled us. The problems have been discussed and acknowledged by all stakeholders.

Let us first congratulate ourselves for having succeeded in brushing aside ideological differences and coming together in agreement on key issues. This collective spirit deserves recognition!

The new government and the concerned departments’ willingness to engage with the industry has created an atmosphere of possibility.

Yet, as we stand at this important juncture, a question naturally arises: What now? What is the best way forward?

The road to a prosperous future for the Bengal film industry looks clear when we focus on two major issues that have systematically undermined it over the years.

Challenges

The first challenge is infrastructural and technical.

These issues are real and therefore, solvable. Significant progress can be made through collaboration among all stakeholders in the filmmaking community.

The second challenge, however, is more serious. It concerns two vital areas that have faced sustained pressure for years: a lack of investors and the shrinking audience base for Bengali films.

Can we turn things around without investors and audiences?

The truth is an emphatic “no”.

Need for investors

As a producer, I can understand that investors have gradually come to view Bengali cinema not merely as a loss-making venture, but as a poor investment altogether.

This mindset is frightening and one that spells danger for the future of Bengali cinema. Unlike technical or infrastructural concerns, this is fundamentally a trade-related problem. It can only be resolved by the business community itself, the trade partners who invest their capital, market the films, and ultimately bear the burden of financial losses. These are the producers.

It is only when we establish a balanced ecosystem, with the creative forces of filmmaking on one side and the trade stakeholders on the other, that genuine progress will occur, and that is the best way forward.

Directors, actors, technicians, writers, musicians, and all those involved in the creative side of films constitute one pillar of the industry.

Producers, investors, distributors, exhibitors, and other trade partners form the second pillar. Bengali cinema can thrive only when both sides are equally respected and empowered.

Almost 14 years in this business of film production has made me realise that one of the industry’s central problems is that we have gradually frightened producers and investors away by failing to provide them the space and importance they deserve.

‘Active’ producers

This issue can be addressed only when we form a guild or organised body that also includes producers who are actively involved in film-making, over the past decade at least.

They will represent investors who come forward and finance the making of films. The formation of such an organised body of “active producers” is an immediate need if we want to safeguard and enhance the financial growth of this industry.

We have witnessed a steady decline in theatre-going audiences.

Cinema expensive

Trade professionals understand that audiences will return to theatres only if watching films becomes affordable again.

Perhaps it is time to create at least one cinema hall in every district, modelled on Calcutta’s Nandan, a space where audiences can enjoy quality cinema without suffering a sharp pinch in their pockets.

Such a model could operate through a revenue-sharing arrangement with the state government and serve as a pilot project for the future.

The big screen now faces intense competition from OTT platforms. Rather than resisting this reality, we must adapt to it. A government-supported OTT platform, operating on a revenue-sharing basis, could provide Bengali films with a powerful avenue to reach audiences where they increasingly choose to consume content, and simultaneously benefit the government.

Such an initiative would not only expand viewership but also create new revenue streams for fresh directors, actors and the creative people, along with new producers.

The producer community can help with such practical and financially viable plans.

With the support of the Bengal government, we are confident that these ideas can be translated into policies and implemented effectively. However, for this to happen, producers must have a strong and meaningful presence as a collective body within the industry’s decision-making structures. As vital stakeholders, they must be heard and their concerns addressed.

Art & business

The art and business of filmmaking is not for the faint-hearted. Cinema is a craft powered by passion, but passion alone cannot sustain an industry. It must be supported by sound economics, responsible policymaking, and a healthy ecosystem that rewards creativity while ensuring financial viability.

In the new era of growth that Bengal has entered, we look forward with hope to the new government. The government has already helped us loosen the chains that constrained the industry. The next step is to move beyond liberation and towards growth through proactive, calculated, and far-sighted action.

Cinema is an integral part of Bengal’s culture and consciousness. History tells us that every great artistic and cultural movement has flourished through the support, patronage, and encouragement of the state, whether through kings, noble patrons, or modern governments. The relationship between culture and patronage has always been inseparable.

It is therefore with humility, optimism, and a sense of shared responsibility that we place these suggestions before all stakeholders.

Within days of the new guard taking over, new investments have started coming.

Friends Communication, which I helm, is partnering on a project that has received collaborative investment from a production company in Mumbai.

Our aspiration should not merely be to revive Bengali cinema, but to make Bengal the hub of the film industry for the entire eastern region of India.

Firdausul Hasan has produced several award-winning Bengali films and is a former president of the Film Federation of India