TMC Leader Slams Actors For Showing Bengal in ‘Poor Light’; Film Fraternity Unites After ‘Irrelevant’ Remark

On Friday, a top Trinamool Congressman attacked people connected to the West Bengal film industry for failing to speak out against a film that purportedly painted the state in a negative light, even though these individuals ‘enjoy the shadow of power’ by sharing the platform with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Former Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh was discussing the Hindi film ‘The Diary of West Bengal,’ which opened in theatres throughout the day. While he did not mention the movie’s name, he did post its poster on X (formerly known as Twitter) along with his remarks.
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday did not pass any interim order on the release of the film observing that in a democratic setup, healthy criticisms should not be stopped. The court was hearing a PIL praying that the release of the movie be restrained, claiming that it seeks to depict the chief minister of the state in poor light.
In the post, Ghosh said, “What is Tolly (Tollygunge) industry doing, especially those producers, directors, actors, who are active in @AITCofficial, holding posts, enjoying shadow of power, sharing stages with Didi, AB; what r are they doing to counter this type of narratives?”
Stars from movies and television can be seen on the platforms of several TMC political programs. Additionally, the party has fielded candidates in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections.
In another post, Ghosh said, “A film spreading hatred, toxicity, falsehood is being released in the country for political reasons. We want the stakeholders in the Bengali film industry, particularly those associated with TMC, to voice their protests – in tweets, press meets and symbolic sit-ins.”
He added, “Those who will not do so will be identified as opportunists.”
The Entertainment Industry REACTS to Kunal Ghosh’s Remarks
A portion of the entertainment industry is protesting the purported rape and killing of a doctor that occurred inside the government-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata three weeks prior, coinciding with the TMC leader’s outburst.
Responding to Ghosh’s comments, film and theatre personality Kaushik Sen said the RG Kar hospital incident ‘shook every citizen of the state.’ “This is not a political protest and we hope he (Ghosh) will appreciate it. Artists of Bengal had always come to the forefront of issues confronting humanity. They never back out, ” Sen said.
Actor-director Parambrata Chatterjee claimed that Ghosh made an ‘irrelevant comment.’ He said Ghosh is mixing up two issues – how film personalities should protest against the R G Kar incident and how they should respond to the release of a film.
“We had protested during the Nandigram movement in 2007 (when the state was ruled by the Left Front) as we felt we must voice our anguish. We will always keep protesting on issues which disturb us. Mr Kunal Ghosh should direct his query to those members of the film fraternity who are associated with his party,” Chatterjee stated.
Actor and TMC MP Satabdi Roy said, “Kunal Ghosh is right. We must speak out against efforts to tarnish the name and image of Bengal.”
(With PTI inputs)