West Bengal orders one Bengali film a day in prime time across all screens

The West Bengal government has taken a step to give Bengali cinema a stronger presence in its own backyard. Starting immediately, every cinema hall in the state, including multiplexes, must screen at least one Bengali film every day during prime time.

Prime time has now been officially defined as 3 PM to 10 PM, the hours when most people visit theatres. This means no matter how many screens a theatre has, each one must dedicate one of these high-traffic slots to a Bengali movie daily.

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An official from the state government reportedly said this move reflects a long-standing effort to support regional cinema. It makes sure Bengali films get fair exposure and a fighting chance at the box office. “It’s about giving our own stories, actors, and filmmakers the audience they deserve,” the official explained.

To formalise this, changes will be in place to the West Bengal Cinemas (Regulation of Public Exhibitions) Rules, 1956, so that the order is legally embedded in cinema operation guidelines.

State Minister for Public Works and Youth Affairs, Aroop Biswas, addressed the media after the announcement. He described the rule as a “historic step” for Bengali culture. “Our Chief Minister has always loved art, literature, and cinema,” Biswas said. “This is her way of ensuring that the Bengali language and our films are celebrated year-round.”

Previously, theatres had to show 120 Bengali films a year, and prime time was from 12 PM to 9 PM. This often meant that the “prime” slot given to Bengali movies was in the early afternoon, when audiences were smaller. By shifting the prime time window to start later, from 3-10 PM, the government hopes to guarantee bigger audiences.

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Now, the rule requires far more Bengali films than before; one per day, per screen, all year long. Biswas gave examples. A cinema with two screens must show 730 Bengali films annually. Three screens will have to screen 1,095. And, a four-screen multiplex will need to manage 1,460 Bengali screenings.

The order is already in effect and will remain so until the government issues new instructions.

This policy comes just days after leading figures in Tollywood, including actors Prosenjit Chatterjee and Dev, directors Kaushik Ganguly and Srijit Mukherji, and producers Shrikant Mohta and Nispal Singh Rane, wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. They complained of “discriminatory treatment” towards Bengali cinema and sought her help.

The tipping point appears to have been the release clash of Kaushik Ganguly’s film ‘Dhumketu’ with a major Bollywood blockbuster scheduled for August 14. The industry argued that local films were often being pushed to less favourable time slots or sidelined entirely when big Hindi films hit theatres.