Tollygunge MLA in Tollywood ‘confederation status’ row
Times of India | 2 July 2026
Kolkata: BJP MLA Papiya Adhikary’s statement that the Eastern India Motion Pictures & Cultural Confederation (EIMPCC) is a non-profit organization, registered under the Societies Registration Act, has elicited significant scrutiny, as it contradicts corporate records, identifying the entity as a private company limited by shares.
BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya on Monday said the party had not sanctioned the confederation and those who joined it might run into trouble. Adhikary, who introduced the confederation, later endorsed this stance, pointing out Bhattacharya’s comment was directed at those attempting to join the organization by leveraging their political affiliation.
On Wednesday, dispute arose over Adhikary’s claims about the confederation’s non-profit organisation status. “We ran a check and we found this confederation is a private limited company and not a non-profit organisation, as claimed by her,” said production manager Sujay Kotal. According to TOI’s findings, it was confirmed EIMPCC is not a non-profit organisation registered under Societies Registration Act but a company, registered under ROC Kolkata with two current directors—Sumit Roy and Sadhan Talukdar. It has an authorised capital of Rs 15 lakh and a paid-up capital of Rs 5,000.
While the company is registered in Howrah, EIMPCC’s membership form has the Technicians’ Studio as its address. “We ran a fact-check and found the confederation does not have any office inside Technicians’ Studio. How can a govt property address be used if the office isn’t there? While the EMC membership card mentions Belvedere Road as the address, the membership card itself is being distributed from the Bijoygarh and the Gandhi Colony party offices. How can one organisation function with three addresses?” Kotal said.
Adhikary’s letter, announcing the formation of a temporary scanning committee with Partha Kar, Atanu Bose, Somnath Banerjee, Ujjal Sarkar, Purnendu Sekhar Mallick, Soikat Das and Kanchana Moitra, also raised disputes. This group has been tasked with reporting all developments within the entertainment industry to the Tollygunge MLA until the current industry stalemate is resolved. Writer Arkadeep Mallika Nath questioned the reason behind Adhikary’s “tearing hurry” to take control over the film fraternity. He challenged her authority to unilaterally form a scanning committee, especially as the govt had already formed an advisory committee with 19 members. “Aroop Biswas established the narrative that being the Tollygunge MLA gives a person the right to run the industry. She, too, is trying to establish the same narrative. It is shocking that without consulting all of those members at a meeting, she independently issued this letter,” Nath said.
He is also concerned about the named on the document. “I know that at least two or three among the five have single-handedly caused more harm than good to the industry. Partha Kar, for instance, was the first person who played an active role for channel heads to control the television industry. How much does Kanchana Moitra really know about technicians and guilds to be part of the committee? This process will end up establishing another set of coterie just the way Swarup Biswas did,” Nath added.
Moitra said, “I hope people are not raising questions as they are threatened by a woman working hard in a patriarchal industry. It is the MLA’s prerogative to decide who she thinks is credible enough to help her serve her constituency and industry better.” Kar told TOI that the committee has started functioning. “I have been a secretary of the federation for 30 years. I quit in 2010. I know everything and am happy that Papiya has roped me in. Channels always had the freedom and they still do. These allegations are baseless,” he said.