Battle of Kolkata's prominent cinemawalas

This week will be remembered as the one when Priya and

Navina

registered themselves as official enemies. The warring proprietors of the two south Kolkata theatres — Arijit Dutta and Navin Choukhani — have been fighting for prominence since 1992, paving the way for a roadblock in Tollywood. Producers tell me that Arijit was once dead against Jaya cinema — notwithstanding that it’s located in

Lake Town

and his theatre in

Deshapriya Park

— and is now channelling his entire angst towards Navina. Though there’s an unsaid mandate that if a Bengali film releases in Navina, it will not find space in Priya, it’s not the same for Hindi and English movies. Also, anyone who’s a friend to Navin is seen as an enemy by Arijit, and needless to say, many find themselves trapped in this tug of war from time to time. So, He Who Must Not Be Named, who spends a considerable part of his day with Navin, is hailed as an adversary by Arijit. I hear none of his releases is considered by Arijit, who has formed a united front with seven theatres and his chain of plexes. Before the release of his latest, Shiboprosad Mukherjee was in for a surprise when Arijit refused to take

Haami

, as Priya is where all his films (with Nandita Roy) have released till date. In fact, Arijit stood by him during his Icche days and both share a good rapport. Only recently, Dev allowed Arijit to have his way by choosing Priya over Navina for his film, Kabir. Even a senior actor like Prosenjit Chatterjee had to give in to his demands as Priya released Drishtikone. With the two biggies taking his side, Arijit could not now make an exception for Haami. Next up, Srijit Mukherji’s Uma is releasing in Navina. I hear, apart from Dev and Nispal Singh, most have moved away from Arijit, who is busy singing to himself, ‘Ekla cholo re’. To him, it’s either Priya or nothing.