For Bangladesh, 2024 has been a historic and transformative year in practically every area, including entertainment and culture. The year has solidified its position in history, one that will never be forgotten, with numerous accomplishments, mishaps, uncertainties, adios, and invigorating changes - and this article will highlight some of the most significant events that occurred in 2024.

Reformations:

The year has witnessed several significant changes in power across different cultural institutions and establishments. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs received multiple administrators this year; the ousted Awami League lawmaker Naheed Izaher Khan ruled the Ministry as its State Minister from March to August 5; and after the July Mass Uprising-led Interim Government, the Ministry received two prominent personalities as the Advisers - first the current Adviser for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Dr Asif Nazrul, and then popular fiction maker Mostafa Sarwar Farooki.

The major national cultural wings have been joined by their new administrators, chosen from the set of Bangladesh’s brightest cultural personalities including Dr Syed Jamil Ahmed (who replaced Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy’s longest-tenured Director General Liaquat Ali Lucky), Dr Mohammad Azam (Bangla Academy), and lyricist-writer Latiful Islam Shibli (Kabi Nazrul Institute), to name a few.

Several committees were launched to assist the country’s art-culture and entertainment industries, and the most notable reformation after the July Revolution took place in September when the Bangladesh Film Certification Board was launched, in response to persistent requests regarding the abolishment of the Bangladesh Film Censor Board from the film fraternity over the years.

Films:

Speaking of films, 2024 has been a devastating year for the cinema industry in general. Dhallywood megastar Shakib Khan starrer ‘Toofan’ was the most successful film of the year; however, his other films ‘Rajkumar’ and ‘Dorod/Dard’ were less successful in contrast to the predictions and expectations. A couple of cinema halls were vigorously affected by the post-revolution mishaps, and the entire industry suffered without other major stars except for Shakib Khan and a lack of frequent releases of quality Bengali films in theatres, leading to the absence of moviegoers.

Among the most notable and successful theatrical releases this year were Shariful Razz starrer ‘Deyaler Desh’ and ‘Omar’, Jazz Multimedia’s ‘Mona: Jinn 2’, late actor Ahmed Rubel’s last film ‘Peyarar Subash’, Giasuddin Selim’s ‘Kajolrekha’, Parambrata Chattopadhyay starrer ‘Ajob Karkhana’, actress Kusum Sikder’s directorial debut ‘Shoroter Joba’, actress Mehazabien’s silver screen debut ‘Priyo Maloti’ and the current Cultural Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s popular drama series ‘420’s sequel film ‘840: The Great Bangla Democracy Pvt Ltd’.

Theatre:

Political unrest significantly impacted the theatre scene in 2024 and lowered the number of theatre productions at venues including Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) and Bangladesh Mohila Samity, even though they persisted throughout the early months of the year. The cancellation of Mad Theatre's performance ‘Anne Frank’ which was scheduled to be performed at BSA's Experimental Theatre Hall on July 19 was the beginning of a long halt, as the heated political circumstances led to the cancellation of the future theatre productions. Soon after, BSA stopped all operations and closed its practice rooms and auditoriums. Bangladesh Army made a temporary camp inside the BSA complex and under the new leadership of the new BSA Director General and esteemed theatre personality and academician Dr Syed Jamil, the National Theatre Hall stage welcomed the return of theatre with Bangladesh Theatre's production ‘Sea Morog’ on October 11, after three months.

However, controversies continued as on November 2, Shilpakala DG Dr Jamil allegedly had to call off Desh Natok’s stage play ‘Nityapuran’ amid the show due to a protesting angry mob against Desh Natok troupe's Secretary Ehsanul Aziz Babu for a Facebook post insulting the Chief Adviser Dr Yunus and the interim government. For the incident, Dr Jamil and the academy faced criticism on social media from netizens and theatre artists-activists. The new BSA DG also faced criticism after counselling the veteran thespian Mamunur Rashid on November 29 to take a break from acting in the wake of the political unrest. As an infringement on artistic freedom, the suggestion drew harsh condemnation from the theatre community.

Among other notable incidents - a new organisation was formed by Dhaka's theatre artists titled ‘Theatre Artists Association of Dhaka’ with Azad Abul Kalam as its President and Saif Suman as General Secretary. Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation (BGTF) witnessed leadership turmoil after its existing President and former BSA DG Lucky was ousted, and the entire theatre industry is hoping for a dynamic change in 2025.

OTT and Television:

This year has been significant for the OTT platforms, as they continued captivating the audiences throughout the entirety of 2024. Chorki has been the most successful among the platforms with its 6 new series including Mosharraf Karim starrer ‘Adhunik Bangla Hotel’, Arifur Rahman’s ‘Baaji’ featuring Tahsan-Mithila and others, and Nuhash Humayun’s ‘Dui Shaw’, and also 7 films including Shihab Shaheen’s ‘Kachher Manush Durey Thuiya’, Farooki’s ‘The Last Defenders of Monogami’, and more. Other OTT platforms including BongoBD, Binge, Bioscope, Deepto Play and others have also showcased quality content throughout the year; while television channels also drew the urban audience’s attention when the nation was detached from internet connectivity during the July Uprising.

Stars who left the world in 2024:

2024 has been a rueful year in the cultural arena for losing a number of eminent, popular and influential artists and personalities. Some of the most notables among them are actors Ahmed Rubel, Masud Ali Khan, Jamal Uddin Hossain, Rista Laboni Shimana, Waliul Huq Rumi; singers and music artists Sadi Mohammad, Shafin Ahmed, Khalid, Hassan Abidur Reja Jewel, Moni Kishore, Shujeo Shyam, Papia Sarwar; lyricists Zahidul Haque and Abu Zafar; filmmaker Shilpi Chakraborty, CB Zaman, film producer Masudul Mahmud Ruhan and others.

Besides these national artists, several prominent cultural personalities in the subcontinent also passed away this year, including the subcontinent’s popular ghazal and playback singer Pankaj Udhas, the legendary Indian singer Ustad Rashid Khan, National poet Kazi Nazrul Islam's grandson Anirban Kazi, eminent Indian tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, and esteemed Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal - to name a few.

Overall, 2024 has been a landmark year for the nation's entertainment and cultural sectors, and everyone is eager to see what the future holds for both industry insiders and audiences.