KOLKATA: Bengal’s film and television industry has reacted positively to the newly formed advisory panel detailed in the June 8 meeting minutes. The development has eased earlier uncertainty by confirming that guilds will continue to function. Industry insiders are also pleasantly surprised that the committee includes several individuals who were earlier associated with Trinamool or maintained cordial relations with the party.During the July 2024 shooting suspension linked to complications surrounding Rahool Mukherjee’s project, the then chief minister had formed and chaired a committee comprising Aroop Biswas, Indranil Sen, Goutam Ghose, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Dev. However, that panel failed to address deeper structural concerns, including the prevailing ban culture, leading Dev to publicly protest such restrictions.The reconstituted panel retains Prosenjit and Dev while adding Roopa Ganguly, Papiya Adhikari, Rudranil Ghosh, Hiranmoy Chattopadhyay, Jisshu Sengupta, Mahendra Soni, Sani Ghosh Ray, Jayanta Kundu, Kaushik Ganguly, Srijit Mukherji, Amit Das, Tanmoy De, Soumitra Mohan, Krittibas Nayak, Sharmistha Banerjee and Shantanu Basu.The inclusion of both Dev and BJP MLA Hiran Chattopadhyay has drawn attention. Hiran told TOI : “This is a decision made by our chief minister. The panel includes people who were affiliated with TMC, stood on the July 21 stage and worked against BJP. Including everyone reflects our govt’s inclusive approach. Development matters more than politics.”Hiran added that the advisory committee has scope to co-opt more members, including representatives from music, literature and journalism, and said it would restructure unorganised bodies. Makeup artist Somnath Kundu, who wrote to the CM after the June 13 eggassault incident on technicians, said the move reassured nearly 7,500 technicians concerned about the future of guilds. Director Subrata Sen said guilds could never be abolished since they fall under the trade union Act.The new committee also includes representation from television. Producer Sani Ghosh Ray welcomed the move, while director Kingshuk Dey called for inclusion of independent filmmakers and expressed hope that the 250 members of the Directors Association of Eastern India would be reinstated.
