‘Bhooth Bangla’ Actor Compares Bollywood And Bengali Films

MUMBAI -Bengali film industry’s superstar Jisshu Sengupta has pointed out the stark differences between the Hindi and Bengali film industries.

He said, “It’s only the money. The average budget of Bengali films would be around 3 crores, mostly. Most of them. There are films that are 8-9 crores, but they probably happen once in two or three years. The average Bengali cinema is around 3 crores. It can be 2.5 or 3.5 max. So that’s the only difference.”

The scale and time taken to complete films were also highlighted by the actor. “In the Bengali cinema, we complete a film within 16 to 18 days on average, with songs, with three to four songs in it. We complete it. And here in Bollywood, we can’t even think of completing a film like that,” he said.

Drawing a comparison with big-budget Bollywood projects, Jisshu said, “If I see a big-budget film, say a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, one song will take eight to ten days. Wahan pe hum log 10 din mein 60 percent film khatam kar denge. So yeah, that’s the only difference, the money part.”

The presence of Bengali talent in Bollywood was also pointed out.

He said, “There are a lot of Bengalis who are working in Bollywood right now. There are so many technicians, so many DOPs. Sudeep Sarkar is there, who works with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and so many more.”

He further emphasized, “You talk about the music directors, Pritam is there, Shantanu Moitra is there. So, there are so many Bengalis here. Talent-wise, technician-wise, there is no difference. It’s only the money part that is the major difference between Bollywood and Bengali cinema.”

Sengupta is set to be a part of ‘Bhooth Bangla’, directed by Priyadarshan. (IANS)