Among the many onerous responsibilities of the CPI(M) in West Bengal is the protection of the hapless masses from unseemly and decadent influences. Usually, however, it restricts its activities to solicitous revisionism, helping people to forget that Calcutta was once a world capital by renaming its streets. It had also painted the top of the Ochterlony Monument red, to show that empire had been superseded by revolution. And once, in a momentary lapse of reason, it had banned Usha Uthup, that most apolitical of artistes, from performing in public in the belief that her `decadent' music was leading the people astray. These moves may have been stupid, but they were bereft of insidious intent. But this time, in launching a mass movement against the dubbing of Hindi films into Bengali, the CPI(M) has been insidiously creative.

It argues that exposure to potboilers will destroy the fabric of Bengali society. In reality, though, this is a mere pretext for pursuing its real agenda protecting the moribund Bengali film industry from competition from obscene Hindi films that are made with crores of rupees. Why, dare one ask, are there no Bengali films made with similar budgets? Because both industry insiders and the State Government have allowed the industry to degenerate to the point of no return. The Bengalis are the ultimate cultural supremacists in India, hence their conviction that their culture must be preserved at all costs. Or does that attitude actually betray insecurity? Logically, a superior culture can be in no danger of being swamped by lesser influences.

West Bengal did have a preeminent culture until recently, but that is no longer the case. And the fall in quality has been most noticeable in films, where Bengalis led the field for decades. Apart from the obvious instances of art film, it might be recalled that even popular Hindi cinema was deeply influenced by the Bengali industry. In fact, some of the most memorable productions were adaptations of Bengali works, and the credits teemed with Bengali names. Today, mainstream Bengali cinema is technically poorer than Bollywood productions, yet is almost indistinguishable from them in terms of content. Good work is only being done in the alternative cinema and in documentaries. So the concerns of mainstream cinema are hardly relevant when it comes to cultural matters.

Most pathetic is the logic that the CPI(M) is using to justify its protectionism. It has argued that Hindi is swamping every region of the country. The people in its Department for Information and Culture should take an educational trip down South, to see the many cultures that are doing famously with languages of their own. And it should set up a cultural research base in Madras, which has been producing Tamil films that become smash hits in Hindi versions in the North. The party also seems to believe that Europe was similarly invaded by Hollywood in the early days of cinema, to the extent that its fragile culture was in danger. One wonders if they have ever heard of De Sica. If not, they should invest in a nice book on European cinema. De Sica was, after all, the most significant influence on Satyajit Ray, the great filmmaker whose work is a constant source of pride for the CPI(M).

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.