It might be a Bangladeshi film. Still, it’s a Bengali film. So, when ‘Rehana Maryam Noor’ received standing ovation in the prestigious Un Certain Regard section of the 74th Cannes Film Festival it made every Bong cine buff proud. At the same time, Bangladesh’s historic achievement led to some valid questions also. Why Bengali films from Kolkata can’t make it to such elite film festivals? While other Asian countries make their presence felt, why are Indian filmmakers, especially from Bengal, no longer in contention for elite class film festivals across the globe? Why we have to celebrate Bengali cinema’s golden past only? ETimes had an exclusive chat with some of the most notable actors and directors to find the reason behind this lack of international recognition. Read on:
Sudiptaa Chakraborty, actress
‘Now, most of the directors make films keeping the box office in mind’
Filmmakers, whose films used to make it to the international film circuit earlier, would make films not just for the niche audience, but also for the masses. So, their films used to easily click with the international audience. But now, most of the directors make films keeping the box office in mind. So naturally, the subjects won’t be classy enough to attract the international film fests.
Indrasis Acharya, director
‘Besides being a brilliant film, it has to match the festival parameters’
A film has to meet the world cinema standards. Each and every festival around the world has its own economic, social and political parameters. When a film is selected, we can easily assume that besides being a brilliant film, it has also matched the parameters of the festival. Unfortunately, this has not happened in years.
Daminee Benny Basu, actress
‘Probably, senior directors don’t get much support on their home turf’
All the senior directors we used to idolise — filmmakers whose films used to be screened at prestigious international film festivals — are hardly making films now. I feel those directors have been cornered. Reasons could be many — their political orientation, age and several other factors. Probably, senior directors don’t get much support on their home turf, and thus, can’t reach out to the international circuit. Also, you need a lot of promotion and marketing, which these senior actors are not very accustomed with.
Ritwick Chakraborty, Actor
‘We are not getting the right content that will appeal to the international audience’
It is a fact that we hardly see any film travelling to different international film festivals. It’s not about junior or senior filmmakers as such. I feel, there are two reasons for this — we are not getting the right content that will appeal to the international audience, and the film’s language needs to be upgraded.
