KOLKATA: Controversy refuses to stop courting the premises of the Eastern India Motion Pictures Association. Krishna Daga’s new leadership has been challenged by distributor Ratan Saha, who ironically was previously celebrated as the interim head in the presence of filmmaker Goutam Ghose. Reacting to the development, Saha questioned the legitimacy of the decision, stating, “All this while I heard rumours of Krishna Daga now holding the EIMPA president chair. I got the confirmation of who is making the claims from the TOI report. My records state that the executive committee itself has been rendered defunct. So, how can it even take such a decision? Besides, this whole process of getting Daga didn’t even take place on the EIMPA premises.” He also pointed out the unusual nature of the appointment, adding, “Daga was part of my felicitation ceremony as interim president of EIMPA. How can he do this?” Daga dismissed the challenge by pointing out that his rival lacks proper standing. He insisted that Saha needs to release the official paperwork he filed. “Saha isn’t even an executive committee member. He needs to make public all the documents he submitted to the Registrar of Companies (ROC) which is a statutory government authority that handles the incorporation, regulation, and statutory compliance of companies and Limited Liability Partnerships.” The industry is surprised that Daga, who was once part of Saha’s camp, is now engaged in a verbal duel with him. Daga accused Saha of being the driving force behind his previous removal from the top post at the association. He claimed that after allegations were leveled against him, Saha brought in Piyaa Sengupta but quickly changed his stance when things did not go as planned. According to Daga, “Saha promised a change in leadership, explicitly telling me that Piyaa would be removed and I would get reinstanted. He invested a lot of money to fight legal cases.” He argued that Saha needs to keep his commitment regarding the reinstatement, remarking, “Instead, he himself craves to hold that post. That can’t happen. I have the entire industry’s support and will focus on its welfare. As for the meeting outside EIMPA, many such meetings of our organisation have happened outside the premises. This is nothing new.” The two warring factions getting embroiled in a verbal duel is giving a bad image to Tollywood. “This is doing no good to us. With the state government wanting to get investors to the industry, I appeal to the state government to intervene and settle the matter once and for all,” said “Pratyabartan” producer Abhijit Chatterjee, who is a member of EIMPA’s producer section.
