Last year, apart from the much-hyped Martin Scorsese directed Departed, the multi-starrer Babel and Blood Diamond, no major nominees found their way to city halls. This year the story is much the same. The reason, authorities claim, is quite predictably, commercial viability.

“Most of these Oscar nominated releases are produced by independent producers or small production house or even individuals, hence it doesn’t make

economical sense either for the producer or for the local importer to release the films in India,” says Utpal Acharya — VP Programming & Distribution, INOX Leisure Ltd.

Even if the prints of the films do get shipped to the country, a Kolkata release is quite low on the priority list of most distributors. “To be very honest, it doesn’t make much sense to release an English film in the city. There are hardly any screens dedicated to English films, which is why there isn’t any audience. If you ask me, it’s a vicious circle,” says Khandelwal.

A stark contrast to the scenario even a decade back when halls like Jamuna, Globe and Lighthouse lapped up all the major English releases. “English film viewership in Kolkata has dwindled to a pitiful figure. It’s quite clear that this generation is not interested in English or foreign films,” says Debashish Sengupta who handles the business of film houses like Paramount and Columbia in the city.