Bollywood in Bengal
- india today
In cinemascope vision, it could be deemed Ajay Devgan's growing favor in Tollywood - Kolkata's filmdom - but in full screen view, it is really Bollywood's increased flavor in the eastern megapolis. Filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh has just wrapped up "Raincoat," his first Hindi movie starring Aishwarya Rai and Devgan, and is readying for his forthcoming venture with the Big B.Aparna Sen has begun work on "Gulel" - also with Devgan. Buddhadev Dasgupta recently signed on Madhuri Dixit, and Gautam Ghosh's last film "Abar Aranye" topbilled Tabu. Ghosh thinks he knows why, "These actors want to do something different from the run-of-the-mill, commercial cinema. They want to work with good directors, and it doesn't matter which state they come from."
Adds Dasgupta, "There are no new faces left in Bengal. And often, no class acts either. So if Bollywood stars want to push themselves artistically and work with us, that's good news."
Either way, there are benefits to both sides.
"Mumbai's stars have greater saleability," opines producer Srikant Mohta. "Their presence automatically opens up a bigger market for regional directors. Now they can release their films all over India and abroad." And given the economies of scale, a small-budget Bengali film can be ready in weeks so that even the busiest star can allot dates. Creative satisfaction? Bengal appears to score over Bollywood.
