The opportunism of Tollywood: How actors turned TMC choti-chatas in Bengali film industry abandoned Mamata Banerjee and her nephew after the 2026 election

All India Trinamool Congress (AITC or TMC) continues to feel the ripples of its humiliating defeat in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly Election at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). TMC is on the verge of a split, as 58 out of its 80 MLAs have already backed expelled lawmaker Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the opposition. A strong revolt is also brewing against the authority of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee. Furthermore, the party has been forced to dissolve all its committees, frontal organisations in the state as the problems continue to intensify without any sign of relief. Meanwhile, the party’s once-loyal support group, which stood by its side since the rise to power appears to have deserted it at the most pivotal moment. The Bengali film industry, referred to as Tollywood, was pampered by the TMC and shared a very close relationship. A generation of these public personalities, such as actors, producers and directors, became leaders, candidates, spokespersons, campaigners and more for the party. They proudly highlighted this bond and were even captured with top leadership, including Mamata Banerjee. However, the tied has dramatically shifted after the electoral loss as those who used to serve as official or unofficial faces of TMC and endorsed it have chosen to jump out of the sinking ship. Tollywood’s strong affiliation with TMC TMC and Tollywood existed in a mutually beneficial relationship for more than a decade. The latter did not merely extend indirect or passive support, but many of its key figures, such as Deepak Adhikari alias Dev, Saayoni Ghosh, Sayantika Banerjee, Kanchan Mullick, Soham Chakraborty, June Malia, Aditi Munshi and Raj Chakraborty formally joined hands with the party as its campaigners, candidates and star symbols. They even reached state assembly and parliament through this route. Their fame has been inextricably linked to Mamata Banerjee’s political efforts. Hence, with the BJP holding power, this ecosystem is evidently unsettled as its political clout has been diminished. On the other hand, artists who refused to conform and preferred to work independently were regularly marginalised. They accused that Tollywood resembled an extension of the state’s political patronage structure rather than a free industry. These concerns were voiced quietly because of the fear of political retaliation from the TMC. The nexus between Tollywood and TMC was also enthusiastically promoted by media outlets opposed to the BJP. In a 2021 article, The Scroll reported on how Mamata Banerjee distributed election tickets to various members of Tollywood prior to the assembly poll. The article mentioned that Bengali film director Raj Chakraborty and others were in high spirits after her press conference. “The film personalities were in a celebratory mood. All of them had joined TMC a week ago. All of them appeared in the candidate list,” it read. The association was so profound and enduring that every time she put together a list of candidates, speculation began about which Tollywood celebrity would receive a nomination. At the time, she nominated 6 Tollywood movie and television stars. “In the past, actors like Moon Moon Sen, Tapas Pal, Satabdi Roy, Sandhya Roy, Dev, Mimi Chakraborty, Nusrat Jahan, Deboshree Roy, Chiranjeet Chakraborty have contested on a TMC ticket. They were either elected to the Parliament or the state assembly,” the piece informed. Throughout the years, Mamata Banerjee meticulously chose actors and actresses from both the older and younger generations to win crucial constituencies in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. These ties are further emphasised by the fact that she had to intervene to resolve a deadlock between directors and technicians in relation to the boycott of director Rahool Mukherjee’s shoots in 2024 after a meeting with three prominent Tollywood names: Prosenjit Chatterjee, Dev and Goutam Ghose. Moreover, the majority of state-sponsored cultural programs were dominated by Bengali cinema and television performers. She invited them to her party meetings and rallies and took advantage of their celebrity status for her political purposes. They also enjoyed the front-row seats on stage at the annual Martyrs’ Day rally arranged by the TMC in Kolkata on 21st July, making it a star-studded occasion. Mamata Banerjee also used awards as a means to reward those who aligned with her. Her government bestowed the “Mahanayak Samman” and other accolades to Bengali film and television professionals “for outstanding contributions in the world of cinema” since 2012. It was given to Rachana Banerjee, TMC’s Lok Sabha MP from Hooghly and singer Nachiketa Chakraborty in 2024. Interestingly, Mamata Banerjee made an appearance in the popular Bengali TV series “Didi No 1” ahead of last Lok Sabha election hosted by Rachana. Likewise, Prosenjit Chatterjee was conferred with a special award in recognition of his contributions to the Bengali film industry over the past forty years and similar honours were handed over to actors Rukmini Moitra, Ambarish Bhattacharya, and Subhasis Mukherjee. Every year, rewards were given to people who showed allegiance to the party. The symbiosis ruptures after TMC’s removal from power The mutual predation had an expiry date of 4th May as the fissures erupted disclosing the real nature of the relationship. TMC loyalists from Tollywood who not only remained silent but also reveled in the political violence directed at the opposition, particularly the saffron party, suddenly distanced themselves and sought to appear neutral. They adopted a defensive stance, started to play victim and transformed into champions of freedom and impartiality. On 2nd May 2021, TMC achieved victory in the assembly election and unleashed unprecedented violence against BJP workers, including women, compelling them to abandon their homes and relocate to Assam for the sake of their safety and dignity. However, actors Parambrata Chatterjee and Swastika Mukherjee took pleasure in the bloodshed. Chatterjee remarked, “Let today be designated as world ‘rogorani’ thrashing day,” to which a gleeful Mukherjee replied, “Let it take happen.” The tweets generated massive criticism, and a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the two at the Gariahat Police Station in Kolkata, based on a complaint filed by advocate Joydeep Sen after BJP formed the government in the state. The complaint asserted that the tweet “appears to abate, encourage, incite and instigate large scale violence at such time when violence against BJP workers had already started to circulate. In fact, around an hour after this tweet, one Abhijit Sarkar of Beleghata was brutally murdered by TMC cadres, in which case the culprits have already been sentenced.” Afterwards, Chatterjee, a loud BJP detractor, argued that he needed to make compromises for his newborn son which drew further condemnation. “There was joy in working in this industry, but over the years, many of us were forced to compromise. I did it as well, keeping the future of my newborn child in mind. No one should have to face this,” he insisted. However, people outlined that the child was born in January 2025 and the actor-director’s controversial conduct happened well prior to that. “The industry should be a place where people can work freely without fear or unnecessary restrictions,” Chatterjee commented. “Many people might not have spoken openly earlier, but conversations around these issues are now becoming more public,” he added about the issues inside the industry. Saayoni Ghosh, the TMC Lok Sabha MP for Jadavpur, accused of posting derogatory anti-Hindu post on social media in 2015 also argued that she was not the one who made it. “It was not done by me, and I have always maintained that. I publicly apologised in 2021. No one should hurt anyone’s religious sentiments. I am myself a Hindu. It is a 2015 post. I was 22 years old then, and Twitter was new for me,” she stated. “I did not post it, and I did not even create the cartoon. So, if anyone needs to be investigated, it should be the person who made the cartoon. When this issue was brought to my attention in 2021, seven years later, I immediately ensured that the post was removed. I also apologised publicly,” she emphasised. Kolkata, West Bengal: On an earlier post allegedly linked to hurting religious sentiments, TMC MP Saayoni Ghosh says, "It was not done by me, and I have always maintained that. I publicly apologised in 2021. No one should hurt anyone’s religious sentiments. I am myself a Hindu.… pic.twitter.com/yaEXoLKHGR— IANS (@ians_india) May 20, 2026 The post which was uploaded around Maha Shivratri featured cartoon showing a female character placing a condom over a Shivling. Ghosh received extensive condemnation for it, but she offered the bizarre explanation and claimed innocence in the lead-up to the 2021 state assembly election. So, TMC leader Saayoni Ghosh has now claimed that the cartoon of a condom on Shivling was not posted by her on twitter (X) in 2015.If you look at the caption of the post, the word couldn't is written as 'cudnt'.Now, if you search for this word on Saayoni's X profile, you will… pic.twitter.com/eVrLC99QP9— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) May 21, 2026 Ghosh also gained notoriety for her pandering to the Muslim community before the recent assembly poll when she sang, “Ekbar chede de nouka majhi jabo Medina (Rower, let the boat move. I will go to Medina). Amar hriday majhe Kaaba, nayane Medina (Kaaba is in my heart, Median is in my eyes),” during an event. However, things are rapidly changing following TMC’s ouster from power. Likewise, others including TMC’s Ghatal Lok Sabha MP Dev used carefully calibrated words after the election result. He welcomed the fresh BJP government while also advocating for artistic freedom and advising against cultural retaliation and “bans,” reflecting a clear survival strategy rather than a political message. “I would earnestly request the new government to uphold the spirit of unity and artistic freedom by ensuring that the culture of bans and divisions within the Bengali film industry becomes a thing of the past,” he urged. Actress Nayana Bandyopadhyay is the only TMC person in Tollywood who managed to succeed in the assembly election. Other glam candidates, including Bratya Basu, Raj Chakraborty, Indranil Sen, Soham Chakraborty, Arpita Ghosh, Sayantika Banerjee, Birbaha Hansda, Aditi Munshi, Lovely Maitra and Shrreya Pande failed. The great churn Tollywood consistently demonstrated its aversion to the saffron party. A platform called “No Vote to BJP” was launched against the party before the 2021 assembly election. A collection of artists also released a music video as part of the promotion. Notable Tollywood personalities include Parambrata Chatterjee, Anirban Bhattacharya, Anupam Roy and Riddhi Sen were part of the drive. Chatterjee similarly declared. “The 2026 election is no ordinary election. This is a fight for Bengali self-respect. Every Bengali should be part of this fight.” However, he conveniently revisited his stand following the poll result. He indicated that he would be happy if the government worked to advance the state’s businesses and industries, particularly Tollywood. He hoped that the government could accomplish all of these goals while taking into account disagreements in political ideologies. This actor has been one of the shrillest voices against the BJP. So much so that he didn’t open his mouth during the post-poll violence of 2021 when BJP workers were being raped and killed. He is now simply trying to curry favour with the new government,” senior lawyer of Calcutta High Court, Joydeep Sen Chattopadhay pointed out in a conversation with ThePrint. The majority of Bengali movie stars who supported Mamata Banerjee are publicly distancing themselves from her party. Interestingly, Tollywood unions under TMC’s tight control are rapidly disintegrating, creating fresh dynamics in scripting and production and novel scripts with major “Hindu themes” are being fervently explored. Additionally, Aroop and Swarup Biswas have come under fire over their suffocating grip on the industry and embodying a culture of political involvement, restrictions, and directives. Actor Papia Adhikary defeated former minister and Tollygunje candidate Aroop who, along with his brother Swarup, monopolised Tollywood. Producers were under pressure over hiring, exhibition and release as dissenters ran the possibility of being expelled. The Federation of Cine Technicians & Workers of Eastern (FCTWEI), led by Swarup, routinely slapped unwritten directives. A set number of employees were expected to be recruited by producers. Prime slots were to be assigned to projects supported by political figures. Actors like Anirban Bhattacharya and directors like Subrata Sen and Indranil Roychowdhury were “banned” after legally challenging the system. “We fought this regime since 2016, when no one was willing to speak, Eskay Movies did. Shoots were stalled even in London, bans were imposed, and letters to the then chief minister went unanswered. What happened in Tollywood wasn’t union activism. It was a political stranglehold dressed up as worker protection. Tollygunge has voted for change. Now let Tollywood breathe,” conveyed producer Himanshu Dhanuka, reported The Times of India. “We have to end the tyranny of the Biswas brothers and their yes-men. People were scared to invest in Bengal because of their arm-twisting. BJP’s cultural wing will ensure that Tollywood’s golden age is revived,” director-producer Pijush Saha submitted. Satadeep Saha, a distributor and exhibitor, stated that he received a notice from the government enquiring as to why he was not showing “Korpur,” which starred former TMC minister Bratya Basu and Kunal Ghosh instead of “Dhurandhar: The Revenge.” In addition to abolishing the ban culture, it is now demanded that Nandan (government-sponsored film and cultural centre) should be reformed and the larger power structure that, according to many, converted Tollywood into a place of fear rather than artistic freedom be dismantled. Conclusion The assembly election results have not only revealed the problematic actions of pro-TMC Tollywood figures against those who remained neutral or were not part of their camp but have also highlighted the opportunistic nature of the umbilical cord that bound them to the party. and easily severed by the BJP’s triumph in Bengal. The conditions have evolved bringing about a stark modification in fidelity as TMC and its top brass, including Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek, have been rapidly deserted by the celebrities who were nurtured and coddled by it for years for political objectives.