New Delhi

In a bid to promote Bengali cinema, the West Bengal government has issued a directive to cinema halls across the state to screen Bengali films during the upcoming festival of Durga Puja. 

The directive has come from the Information and Cultural Department of the state government and states cinema halls to screen Bengali films in primetime throughout the festival. 

Every year, filmmakers cash in on the festive period and schedule the release of big-budget films at that time. This year too, several big-ticket Bengali films are lined up for release during Durga Puja. 

Srijit Mukherjee’s ‘Gumnaami’ featuring Prosenjit Chatterjee and Dev Adhikari’s ‘Password’ are among the 6 films that are lined up for release the next week. They will be clashing with Todd Phillips ‘Joker’ and YRF’s ‘War’- which release at the same time. 

According to reports, several Bengali film produicers had appealed to CM Mamata Banerjee to intervene as cinema halls were giving their films limited screens compared to Hindi releases. 

Last year too, a similar directive was issued in the state to encourage Bengali films and increase their earnings.