2014: A lackluster year for Bengali films

With the death of screen goddess Suchitra Sen in January, 2014 began on a sad note for the Bengali film industry which hardly had anything to look forward rest of the year. Although around 120 films were released during the year, hardly few of them made a mark as most theatres screening Bengali films remained empty.

The saddest part of the year was the demise of legendary actress Suchitra Sen who stole hearts with both her Bengali and Hindi films for three decades till the seventies. In Bengal, she was best known for her unbeatable romantic pairing with Bengali cinema legend Uttam Kumar. Director Srijit Mukherji, whose earlier works like 'Autograph' had pleased both critics and audiences alike, disappointed box office this time.

The Prosenjit starrer 'Jaatishwar' won four national awards in the categories of best male playback singer, best costume design, best music direction and best makeup artist. The film, which failed to excite the audience, revolved around the life of Hensman Anthony, a 19th-century Bengali language folk poet of Portuguese origin, as the script crisscrosses between 19th and 21st centuries. 

A report by CII and IMRB said the regional industry delivers only 5-6 hits as theatres recorded a dismal 30 per cent occupancy on weekends and around 20 per cent on weekdays. A survey of Bengali film viewers in Kolkata revealed that a majority (54 per cent) have not been in theatres in the last one year to watch a Bengali film despite proliferation of multiplexes. Hit by the dominance of Bollywood, Tollywood was also scared of dubbing of Hindi films and television soaps in Bengali.

The industry called for boycott of dubbed films in the wake of the Bengali dubbed versions of Yash Raj Film production 'Gunday' releasing simultaneously with the Hindi one in the state. The film was shot extensively in the city and other parts of West Bengal and had the star cast of Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra capturing the flavour of the state in the 1970s and 1980s.