Kolkata, Sept 2026 : Actor-turned-politician and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mithun Chakraborty, who has been appointed cultural advisor by the BJP government in West Bengal, on Friday announced a 30 per cent subsidy for film productions that choose to shoot in the state.
The announcement came a day after Chakraborty, while attending a programme to mark the birth centenary of legendary Bengali actor Uttam Kumar, said he had made a special request to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari for a subsidy to encourage filmmakers to shoot in West Bengal. According to Chakraborty, the Chief Minister agreed to the proposal.
Speaking to reporters after his appointment as cultural advisor was announced, Chakraborty said the initiative was aimed at restoring Bengal’s position as an important destination for the Indian film industry. He said efforts would be made to bring filmmakers from across the country to the state by providing incentives for film production.
“We will try to bring back whatever we have lost,” Chakraborty said, adding that the government would provide a 30 per cent subsidy to encourage filmmakers from across India to come to Bengal and shoot their projects there.
The veteran actor was also asked about former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s recent warning that she would organise protests outside the residences of BJP leaders in Delhi over alleged attacks on Trinamool Congress leaders and party offices.
Responding sharply, Chakraborty questioned whether Banerjee’s remarks were appropriate, referring to her allegations of “atrocities” and claiming that BJP workers had themselves faced such treatment. He said he generally avoided making personal remarks but maintained that the comments did not suit the former Chief Minister.
Banerjee had earlier announced plans to take the protest to the national capital following an alleged attack on a Trinamool Congress office associated with party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. In a Facebook Live address, she had accused the BJP of sending “goons” and warned that she would personally travel to New Delhi to demonstrate outside the residences of BJP leaders if what she described as atrocities were not stopped.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Adhikari announced Chakraborty’s appointment as cultural advisor while attending the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the proposed Uttam Kumar Film Centre at New Town, on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, on Friday.
The film centre is expected to be developed at a cost of Rs 25 crore, with funding already sanctioned by the state Information and Cultural Affairs Department. The project is intended to serve as a major facility for the Bengali film industry.
Addressing the gathering, Adhikari said experts from the Bengali film industry would be entrusted with finalising the design of the centre. He assured that the state government would not interfere in the creative and technical aspects of the design, leaving those decisions to professionals from the Bengali silver-screen community.
