One of the most popular forms of local entertainment in Sonagachi is the traditional Bengali folk music, known as "Lokgeet." Characterized by its soulful melodies and poignant lyrics, Lokgeet is a staple of Bengali culture and a favorite among locals. Many Sonagachi residents, including sex workers and marginalized communities, have found solace in Lokgeet, using it as a means of expression and storytelling.

Historically rooted in the 19th-century Kotha culture of the Baijis (courtesans) who entertained the Bengali elite ( Babus ), the musical landscape of Sonagachi has drastically modernized.

For decades, Tollywood (the Bengali film industry) treated Sonagachi as a convenient backdrop for moral decline. Films like Patalghar (2006) and Gangster (2016) used the district’s visual texture—flickering red bulbs, peeling plaster, and shadowy doorways—to signify danger and forbidden desire. In these narratives, the women of Sonagachi were silent props, rarely given dialogue or agency. The local entertainment content was what filmmakers extracted , not what the community produced .

Sonagachi, located in North Kolkata, is one of Asia's largest red-light districts. Beyond its geographical and social reality, it occupies a unique space in South Asian cultural imagination. Popular media, local entertainment content, and artistic narratives frequently use this neighborhood as a backdrop. These depictions range from sensationalized Bollywood blockbusters to deeply empathetic regional documentaries. They reflect changing societal attitudes toward sex work, marginalization, and human rights.

While criticized by some local activists for showcasing "poverty porn," the documentary brought international attention to the living conditions, education, and entertainment avenues available to the youth within the district. Modern Bollywood and OTT Adaptations

The consumption here is insular. These videos are not uploaded to YouTube for global audiences; rather, they are shared via Bluetooth, local Telegram groups, and private WhatsApp circles. They are entertainment for the community, by the community. A 2023 study by the Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata, noted that over 60% of sex workers in Sonagachi consume at least 30 minutes of "locally produced video content" daily, far outweighing their consumption of mainstream Bengali television.