The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first "bioscopes" were shown in theatres in Calcutta. Within a decade, the first seeds of the industry was sown by Hiralal Sen, considered a stalwart of Victorian era cinema blank">Who's Who of Victorian Cinema. Hiralal Sen when he set up the Royal Bioscope Company, producing scenes from the stage productions of a number of popular shows at the _Star Theatre,Minerva Theatre , Classic Theatre. Following a long gap after Sen's works, blank">Pioneers of Bangladeshi Cinema _Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (Known as D.G) established Indo British Film Co, the first Bengali owned production company, in 1918. However, the first Bengali Feature film, Billwamangal, was produced in 1919, under the banner of Madan Theatre. Bilat Ferat was the IBFC's first production in 1921. The New Theatre production of Dena Paona was the first Bengali talkie. A long history has been traversed since then, with stalwarts such as Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak and others having earned international acclaim and securing their place in the movie history.

Today, there are two Bengali film industries, one in Kolkata, India and the lesser known one in Dhaka, Bangladesh (called Dhallywood). , a portmanteau of the words Tollygunge, the area of South Kolkata where this industry is based, and Hollywood.