During the last couple of months, Bangladesh has been going through changes and vital upheavals across every sector, including its film industry - but here the situation remains jittery with stakeholders facing uncertainty.
The moviegoers, producers and filmmakers, actors, music artists, technical crew members, hall owners, distributors and even journalists are experiencing a difficult time finding out the answer to the question - when exactly the industry will get back to normalcy, in terms of business.
Bangladesh's movie industry has always been fairly Eid- and festival-centric with some occasional exceptions, but this year has been one of the toughest years for the industry in general. Dhallywood megastar Shakib Khan starrer 'Toofan' was a commercial triumph on Qurbani Eid; however, as the protest began to demand reform of quotas in government jobs which led to the ouster of the Hasina regime, Dhaka's cinema came to a halt due to the unrest.
Film shooting and screening came to a standstill during this period of political turmoil and regime changes, and several cineplexes and cinema halls in the country were also vandalized on August 5, as an aftermath of the overall situation.
Then, after the formation of the interim government, the plan to bring significant changes in the country's film industry began, starting from the formation of the Film Certification Board by disbanding the long-standing Censor Board, and several other committees were also formed right after that.
This includes seven newly announced committees - the Full-Length Film Grant Committee, the Short-Film Grant Committee, the Script Selection Committees for Full-Length and Short-Film Grant, the Sub-Committees for the Full-Length and Short-Film Grant, and the Film Certification Appeal Committee.
However, after the change in the political landscape of the country, the film sector has practically come to a standstill, so the producers are not daring to invest money at this time. Due to this, many artists and technicians are currently unemployed and are in an unbearable economic crisis.
The cinema hall owners and multiplexes are also suffering due to this stagnated situation without appealing Bangla films and therefore, the lack of audiences. From single screens to multiplexes, long ticket queues were seen for Bangladeshi films over the past few years for films like ‘Poran’, ‘Hawa’, Surongo’, ‘Priyotoma’, ‘Rajkumar’ and more - which were commercially successful, according to the theatres and hall owners.
However, without the absence of quality Bangladeshi films in the last couple of months, the multiplexes have been running foreign movies. Some of the halls and theatres have fully stopped showcasing films, such as the Roots Cineclub in Sirajganj.
The changing landscape also poses a threat - it raises the question of adequate audience turnover at theatres.
Regarding this, film critic, screenwriter, and journalist Sadia Khalid Reeti, told UNB: “To bring audiences back to the theatres, we need to work on a holistic approach to mend the cinema ecosystem in Bangladesh. There are too many roadblocks in the form of ineffective regulations and corruption, but we are hopeful that this is the right time for reform.”
A member of the recently announced National Film Grant Selection Committee and National Film Advisory Committee, Reeti added: “Starting from being more particular about which films receive national film grants to establishing a central e-ticketing system to ensure all stakeholders get their fair share of revenue - our industry needs a total makeover.”
The upcoming big theatrical release, through which the industry is eyeing to witness the rush of moviegoers in the theatres, is Dhallywood megastar Shakib Khan's first-ever pan-India film ‘Dorod’ (‘Dard’ in Hindi). The Anonno Mamun-directed film is set to be released in Bangladesh on 15 November 15 and is also set to be released in 20 countries across the world.