Parambrata Chatterjee says the Bengali audience needs to come out of their shells: ‘We have cultural baggage'

Parambrata Chattopadhyay opened up about Bengali film industry not reaching out to different regions of the country. He also commented on the influence of mother tongue in language.

Actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay recently shared his thoughts about Bengali cinema being pushed to the sidelines. He added that the scenario in the Bengali industry should change now. He feels Tollywood lacks a wider audience and a lot of it is because of the audience. Parambrata also said that vernacular actors suffer from the influence of their mother tongue.

Parambrata Chattopadhyay on the Bengali cinema.

Parambrata is the grand-nephew of iconic filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak. After working predominantly in the Bengali entertainment industry, he made his Bollywood debut in the Vidya Balan-starrer Kahaani, which released in 2012. Besides acting, Parambrata also donned the director’s hat in 2011 with his Bengali film Jiyo Kaka.

Talking about Tollywood not reaching a wider audience, Parambrata told Zoom, “It is also a predicament we have and we are trying to deal with it. We have been known for making sensitive sensible cinema but I think given the kind of renaissance we had around 2010, 2011 and 2012, I think we should have gone a little wider by now, reached out to more people in the country.”

“The Bengali audience too need to be a little for accepting of the films being made and need to embrace new films with open arms. I do not think we have managed to capture the Bengali Diaspora. We are a race of Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. We have cultural baggage and I feel even if people do not appreciate that cinema, they carry the baggage on their shoulders. Bengali viewers want to be a discerning audience which stops them from experimenting with new stuff. They need to come out of their shells, while makers too need to keep the wider audience in their minds,” he also added.

During the interaction, Parambrata also agreed about Bengali actors suffering from MTI (Mother Tongue Influence) and asserted that it was not harmful. He will be next seen in Anushka Sharma’s upcoming film Chakda ‘Xpress.