The film industry in Bengal has seen positive developments both in the number of films being made as well as in terms of investments. Investment in the film industry saw a 20 per cent year-on-year growth to Rs 150 crore during the last one year.

According to a study by Deloitte and FICCI on ‘Media & Entertainment in East India – Bengal’, film budgets too have crossed Rs 6 crore in some cases, while shooting overseas is also gaining popularity. Production of smaller budget films (of Rs 60 lakh) is also becoming popular.

In 2011, nearly 122 films — 12 more than 2010 — were certified, while there has been an increased variety of content being offered in Bengali films. Greater content variety is a result of changing audience preferences both in the districts and urban areas and increasing competition with Hindi and non-Bengali movies.

“This may help not only in improving the return on investments for film-makers but also lead to the discovery of new genres,” the study adds.

In the Bengali film industry, commercial movies have seen success; the urban genre has witnessed both critical acclaim and commercial success. Bhooter Bhabisyat has been cited by the study as one such urban genre movie that received both critical acclaim and commercial success.

Bengali TV

According to the study, the Bengali television industry attracts around Rs 780 crore of advertisement revenues. Of these, Rs 600 crore is garnered by the Bengali general entertainment channels (GECs) while the remaining Rs 180 crore is split between news, movie and other channels.

GECs continue to dominate the television market in the State.

West Bengal generates around Rs 950 crore through subscription revenues but this is set to increase with digitisation of cable television. “With increased transparency expected in the State with the rollout of digitisation, it can be surmised that overall subscription revenue growth will be at a higher clip especially for television channels,” the study said.

The emergence of niche channels – like movie only channels, Bengali film music or youth entertainment channels — is also expected in the coming days.

Media Market

According to the study, the total print media market in West Bengal is expected to cross Rs 1,450 crore by 2016, from the existing Rs 980 crore.

The Bengali print media market will stand at Rs 880 crore (Rs 600 crore) while the English print market will stand at Rs 540 crore (Rs 300 crore) in 2016.

Interestingly, the study points out that readers are increasingly becoming more discerning and benchmarking regional dailies against English ones, not just in content but also in newsprint and presentation.

“Going forward, it is expected that print will continue to grow in West Bengal as newer readers emerge as well as a diaspora that can be reached better online,” the study said.

abhishek.l@thehindu.co.in

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