To be a ‘Bangali’, one need not speak ‘Bengali’
Mamata Banerjee government’s recent order to show a Bengali film on prime time across multiplexes represents Bhadralok hegemony
The culture of Bengal isn’t and should not be Kolkata-centric. Our choices of food, dresses and movies are diverse. Our government must respect it
The West Bengal government has directed all the multiplexes and cinema halls across the state to run at least one Bengali movie in prime time (3 pm to 9 pm). Apparently, this move has been lauded by many who feel that it will boost the Bengali film industry. But will the Bengali language or the culture of West Bengal benefit from this? Who produces the Bengali films? Aren’t the majority of the prominent Bengali film producers from outside of Bengal? Once known for luminaries like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, and Ritwik Ghatak, Bengali mainstream professional cinemas are now mostly dubbing the South Indian blockbusters. While a chunk of producers don’t belong to West Bengal, no targeted initiatives have been taken to empower independent or alternative filmmakers.
We must fight Hindi imposition, but we shouldn’t do the same thing that we are opposing. One brand of identity politics can’t be a solution to another brand of identity politics. Many non-Bengali-speaking people live across Bengal. A blanket imposition of Bengali cinema can make them feel disenfranchised. The term “Bangali” is as diverse as the word “Indian”. Someone not speaking Bengali doesn’t disqualify her from being a “Bangali”. People living in the bordering areas, or Terai or Dooars or the areas falling into GTA (Gorkha Land Territorial Administration) often face marginalisation and vilification by the so-called puritan Bengalis for their languages. I, as a Kamtapuri-speaking person, have often faced the same discrimination. The non-Bengali speakers are called by various names, sometimes even “foreigners”, very similar to what the Bengali migrant workers are called Hindi heartlands.
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