(From top) Sameera Reddy and Rahul Bose with child artistes in Kaalpurush, and Prosenjit and Raima Sen in Swapner Din

When the men from Mumbai raised a toast to Tollywood one balmy June night last year, the tinsel town went into a tizzy over the prospect of big bucks finally flowing into the cast-starved film industry.

Fifteen months on, the enthusiasm has fizzled out and the high hopes have crash-landed, thanks to Bollywood producer Jhamu Sughand?s attitude towards Tollywood.

So, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, the worst hit by the Lagaan producer?s ways, is a bitter man today. Two of his films, Swapner Din and Kaalpurush, produced by Sughand in quick succession, have been globe-trotting to several film festivals for long but are yet to see the light of day in hometown Calcutta.

Swapner Din, starring Prosenjit, Rimii and Raima Sen, has been waiting for a year-and-a-half; Kaalpurush, with Mithun Chakraborty, Rahul Bose and Sameera Reddy, a little less than a year.

?I don?t want to make any more films with a producer like him (Sughand) who is not at all bothered about the release of his films. I am terribly upset. I can?t trust them any more. As a director, the delay is very stressful and hurtful for me. Kaalpurush and Swapner Din are travelling all around the world and the city doesn?t get to see them. This is such a nuisance,? said a disgruntled Dasgupta, before leaving for the Toronto International Film Festival where both are being screened in the Masters? Section.

Not to forget Janmadata, Swapan Saha?s potboiler with a huge cast led by Jisshu Sengupta and Rachana Banerjee. The film produced by Sughand in partnership with Ideas, the production house run by Prosenjit, is also awaiting release for nearly a year.

But the reason cited for the delay, by the producer?s camp behind blockbusters like Rangeela and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, is one film specific.

?Our Black Friday, directed by Anurag Kashyap, is stuck in Supreme Court, and the judgment should be passed very soon. It will in all probability be cleared because the Supreme Court does not generally hold back any film. So after the release of Black Friday, we will release Swapner Din and Janmadata in a gap of three weeks, and then follow it up with Kaalpurush,? said Sughand?s spokesperson Sanjay Routray.

Hardly convincing that. The buzz in Tollygunge says the Bollywood dream merchants are just not clued into the ground realities of the local industry. Both Swapner Din and Kaalpurush had a budget of around Rs 1 crore and the producer is reportedly charging an exorbitant sum from the films? distributor for their release.

?The quantum of upfront payment that has been demanded for theatrical distribution in Bengal is extremely unreasonable,? explained an exhibitor, on condition of anonymity.

Rimii in Swapner Din

?The two films have been long overdue and under the given circumstances, the Priya chain of halls is unapproachable for release in the next three-four months,? stressed Arijit Dutta, owner of Priya, where one of the films was eyeing a September release.

With a year-end release looking out of bounds, uncertainty shrouds Swapner Din and Kaalpurush. ?I just want my film to release. I had put in so much effort under so much pressure for one month. I want people to see Swapner Din and as an actor I am very depressed because of the delay,? said Prosenjit, while adding, ?all three films should get released as Jhamuji had invested a lot in them?.

But with Janmadata also stuck in the fray, Prosenjit isn?t pinning much hope on the ?strategic alliance? forged between him and Sughand last summer to roll out a slew of mainstream Bengali films ? one each with Swapan Saha, Haranath Chakraborty, Anup Sengupta and TV serial maker Anindya Sarkar. ?I am not sure. Going by the present scenario, I have doubts,? said Tollywood?s main man.

Meanwhile, Sughand?s team is trying to play down the problems. ?After the three releases, we will take up the rest of the projects. We are working out something with Haranath Chakraborty. We are certainly not backing out from Bengal,? said Routray.