Kolkata-wood in B-Town?

It looks like a complete Kolkata sweep in Mumbai films, TV ads and music. The year 2012 has to be the finest for Bengali actors and filmmakers in Mumbai tinseltown, commercials and even at the National Awards. Suddenly everything related to the once cultural capital of India is hot and happening.
It probably started off with 'Bidya Bagchi' andBob Biswas's bone-chilling turn in the first sleeper hit of the year, Kahaani directed by Sujoy Ghosh and shot in the city of joy.For the first time in years, a non-Kolkata filmmaker chose not to make a caricature of the city and its residents and deftly captured the magic moods of the vibrant megapolis during Durga Puja.
It marked the national recognition of two of Bengal's shining character actors, Parambrata Chatterjee (grandson of the legendary filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak) as the supportive cop, Rana and Sashwata Chatterjee, whose 15-minute screen presence gave Bollywood films a brand new villain who had web pages devoted to him and a huge virtual following. Parambrata who also did a Domino's pizza TV commercial reportedly has hired a talent management company for himself and says he's "open" to good film offers in Bollywood.
Dusky beauty Paoli Dam created ripples with a bare-back shot in Vivek Agnihotri's Hate Story and to her credit, the film emerged as a BO winner. Prosenjit Chatterjee, Kolkata's reigning superstar for two decades, makes a comeback to B-Town in Dibakar Banerjee's thriller, Shanghai. Prosenjit, son of former 60s star Biswajeet had a shaky first innings in Hindi films in the late 80s. The talented actor who arrogantly rejected Saajan and Maine Pyaar Kiya (films which might have changed his fortune in Mumbai) had to be cajoled by Dibakar (for three months) to do this stellar appearance in what's being touted as the film of the season.
Now, 49 year old Prosenjit is hoping that Shanghai will "pull him out of the regional cinema mould" and give him a bigger platform. Another Bengali filmmaker from Delhi, Shoojit Sarkar'sVicky Donoris already a major commercial success. The interesting part? The female protagonist (played by Yami Gautam) is a Bengali girl who's independent, smart and liberated, like any other urban working woman is expected to be. The Bengali family in VD is not a typical stereotype that's been used in Bollywood films for decades now, but real people who are not cartoonish rip-offs. Shoojit's next flick, Jaffna, which revolves round the LTTE, stars John Abraham and a "leading Bengali superstar". Anjan Dutta's Binoy Badal Dennis, starring Kay Kay Menon, Jimmy Shergill and Rituparna Sengupta in lead roles, set in Kolkata, has suddenly seen a renewed interest from exhibitors and is now tentatively expected to hit the screens in August.
There are others from Kolkata who're making a mark too, Koel Mallick, Kolkata film industry's current reign woman has shot for a Vaseline TVC airing nationally; Prosenjit's wife Arpita Pal has shot the Lacto Calamine TVC. Rupa Ganguly won the National Award as the best singer (female), while the powerhouse of talent, Soumitra Chatterjee bagged the much coveted Dadasaheb Phalke Award this year. Kolkata's busiest music composer Jeet Ganguly made his Bolly debut in Blood Money and is also doing music for Aashiqui 2.
Bollyland's most wanted playback singer Ash King who made a chartburning debut in last years' Te Amo(from Dum Maaro Dum), followed by the chartbusting I Love You(Body Guard) was born Ashutosh Ganguly. Ash or Ashutosh has been now handpicked as the chosen voice for Aamir Khan in Dhoom 3.
Of course there have been heavyweight presence from Kolkata in Indian cinema before, Satyajit Ray was the first Indian filmmaker to have brought global honour in India, and filmmakers like Mrinal Sen, Gautam Ghosh and Buddhadev Dasgupta who have made award winning meaningful films that have redefined cinema; or even Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee who made lighthearted, feel good Hindi rom-coms, or Basu Bhattacharya who made intense love sagas, but that's another story.
Kolkata is no longer just a city, it is a character in films and the stars/composers are now receiving national acclaim. Does it make a difference to these stars/composers? May be not, since most of them revel in their glory in their hometown, but the heartening fact is that at least one segment of regional cinema is getting some recognition finally. For now, take a bow, Bengal.