Talking Heads with Arijit Dutta

Anurag Basu - Televisionpoint.com | Kolkata
Today, Arijit Dutta, managing director, Priya Entertainment, stands out in Tollywood for the dynamism he has shown in catapulting his company right to the forefront.

After spending his primary school days at St Xavier's, Dutta was sent off to St Paul's in Darjeeling. Finishing school, he joined Jadavpur University and graduated with history and economics. It wasn't time, still, to try his hand at the film business. Dutta joined GEC subsidiary, Genelec, and worked in areas like secretarial and personnel projects.

From the late-90s, he had triggered new age strategies like brand tie-ups with corporates, to turn the family owned, single-screen Priya Theatre into a money-spinner. But, interestingly, as a kid or in his school and college days and even when he joined his first job, he was never allowed by his parents to come anywhere close to film industry circles.

Can you begin the success story of Priya Entertainment and about the terrace parties?
We would have these terrace parties in those days. And, movie personalities from both Calcutta and Bombay would drop by at these get-together. Our residence was (and still is) above the theatre. This was a novel feature. Film people across the board were associated with my grandfather (Nepal Dutta) and father (Ashim Dutta). Which included Raj Kapoor, Satyajit Ray, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Ashok Kumar and his brother Kishore Kumar, to mention just some.

Raj Kapoor was a regular visitor and would stay over at the penthouse on the terrace. He loved my grandmother's chingri (prawn) cutlets. So, every time he came, the refrigerator would be stocked with prawns. I heard about these parties later, because my folks were very particular about keeping my sister and me away from the film crowd. In fact, I hardly knew anything about the film industry till when I joined the family business in 1990.

What is structure of the company Priya Entertainment?
Priya Entertainment was floated in the mid-nineties, it sports two other older outfits in its fold. These embrace the production and distribution company Piyali Films and production unit Purnima Pictures. Another distribution label of the family, Piyali Pictures, was hived off to the Ranas of Nepal by grandfather.

How easy was it for you to manage your family enterprise?
I had traveled through various places during my stint at Genelec. Father passed away in 1986 and mother started looking after the business. Then, in 1990, I was drawn into the film business by my mother. I had no clue about movie trade or operations in my family enterprise. In the beginning, I would spend time in the company office trying to fathom trivial matters like the rate structure of movie tickets. I knew nothing about entertainment taxes that were levied on this sum.

This was also the time when fortunes of theatres were going from bad to worse. The movie halls were being patronised by an absolutely mass audience as the gentry had opted out to the video cassette. These were also days of controlled ticket rates and hefty tax slabs.

And, the height of unionism amid the Red Raj. Therefore, in the first three years, I felt theatre management was a big issue and focused single-mindedly on this aspect.

How about the famous modernisation moves enthralled by you?
It was only a matter of time before I would upgrade and modernise my movie hall around the mid-90s. And, as fate would have it, two movies opened at the theatre back to back. Karan Arjun and Bombay. Both movies were runaway hits and my move to renovate the theatre had paid off in a big way.

Around this time, I received a call from Uday Singh, managing director of Columbia Tristar. Singh was proposing that I take charge of distributing Columbia's films in the eastern region. I told him that I knew nothing of distribution. That's the reason I'm picking you. I don't want someone who is hand in glove with the distribution trade, he told me.

The Columbia (now rechristened as Sony Pictures) deal paved the way for more such associations with leading labels such as Buena Vista, Paramount, Star Entertainment, Shringar and UTV for me. In step, Priya had swung a slew of brand collaborations. And, at the same time, taken over management control of state owned theatres like Gitanjali, Annapurna, Krishti, the famed Star Theatre and Vidyasagar Memorial Complex.

I owe Uday a serious amount of credit for my marketing knowledge and outlook toward the industry.

In brief, can you underline your achievements and passion?
(Smiles). I had operated at the Eastern India Motion Pictures Association as its youngest president. Of late, I have also ventured into acting and done films with directors like Gautam Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Raja Sen, Rituparno Ghosh and Anjan Dutt.

I also vanish off abroad occasionally, in places like Africa, on hunting safaris, a passion I inherited from my grandfather. And, I am self-trained chef. You can tell the difference between momos from the chutney.