Tapash Paul at the premiere in Siliguri on Sunday. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri, April 6: Rajbanshi films have begun to woo Tollywood talent.

Riding high on Tapash Paul’s star image, Chandan Chakraborty-directed Eito Bhalobasha, in which the Trinamul Congress MLA plays the main lead, was premiered in Siliguri today.

Paul, who came straight from the sets of a Bengali film in the Dooars, said it was fulfilling for him as an actor to do a film in the language of the people of rural north Bengal. “Every actor wants to do films in different languages,” he said.

“I had acted in Oriya and Hindi films earlier. When I was offered a Rajbanshi film, I immediately agreed because it is one of the major languages spoken in north Bengal and I have a very strong bond with this place. I was born here and most of my films are shot in north Bengal,” Paul said.

As a political leader, Pal said, he felt it was appropriate to work in a film that spoke the language of the marginalised communities. “In this way, we can give them the message that we love them,” he added.

“There are two heroes and heroines in the film and Tapasda plays the lead,” Arup Sanyal, the technical director of the film, said.

Paul plays a man who returns to his village after many years in the city and tries to cope with the changes taken place there.

There is also a story of young lovers. True to the tradition of any commercial cinema in the country, the story is about a poor village priest’s son’s love with the rich daughter of the village pradhan.

All other actors and actresses are from Siliguri.

Chakraborty said the film would be screened in the theatres from April 11. “We will soon announce our second Rajbanshi film, in which we plan to have more actors from Tollywood,” he added.

The release comes at a time when director Swapan Saha is working on his yet-to-be-named debut Rajbanshi film, which is being shot in an around Siliguri. Reportedly, he plans to cast Prosenjit in his next Rajbanshi venture.

Paul said Rajbanshi films have a lot of potential in north Bengal. “There is a huge market for Rajbanshi films here,” he said. He also felt that Tollywood presence would be able to raise the standard of film entertainment among Rajbanshis. “They will be able to get better-quality entertainment in their own language,” he said.