The Bengali film industry is in a cusp of growth and should now look at establishing itself amongst the prominent regional film industries in India, tapping the international markets more aggressively. It should also exploring new and emerging medium and platforms such as mobiles and iPads, IPTV and internet streaming services. That’s what a recent study on the entertainment industry in the east by Deloitte and commissioned by Ficci, said.

“The Bengali film industry has to look beyond domestic theatricals and C&S (cable and satellite) rights to achieve its true potential in size and reach. Looking overseas and targeting cross over markets within India is the key to fulfilling this objective. Today films are not just seen in theatres, but also on mobiles and iPads. Emerging platforms such as IPTV and internet streaming services continuously stream films to consumers worldwide. Such services are also accessible on a number of devices and platforms. Hence, there is a clear opportunity for Bengali films to reach out to these audiences through digital distribution platforms and overcome marketing and distribution limitations,” the study said.

Sandip Biswas, director, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, who authored the report, however, sounded a word of caution. “The region is not devoid of challenges as in the rest of the country. Development of infrastructure, piracy and content monetisation are the major challenges being faced today,” he said.

Interestingly, over and above the theatrical collections, revenues from various other avenues such as satellite TV, mobile ringtones and downloads, sale of DVD rights, and overseas distribution have more than doubled in 2010 and is expected to grow further. The contribution of cable and satellite to the industry in 2010 is estimated to be nearly Rs 3,511 crore. The existing trend of growing contribution from the C&S segment is expected to continue going forward as well.

Biswas in his report pointed out that unlike regional movies down South, Marathi films or Hindi movies, where there have been large corporate funding, the Bengali film industry is replete with the success of concept-based small budget films.

The average production cost of a Bengali film varies between Rs 60 lakh and Rs 2 crore, excluding print and publicity costs, which is substantially less than their counterparts elsewhere in the country. When it comes to marketing spen­ds, the Bengali film industry conti­nues to have lesser marketing spe­nds as compared to other regional industries and Bollywood. The marketing budget for Bengali films varies between Rs 15 lakh and 35 lakh depending on their size.

On the issue of multiplexes replacing single screen, Biswas said that the number of single screen theaters in West Bengal has come down from nearly 850 about 15 years ago to 340 now.