Introducing Bangladeshi audience to world-class movie experience in 2004, Star Cineplex, the first multiplex chain in Bangladesh, celebrated its 18th anniversary yesterday. The multiplex brand started its journey on October 8, 2004 with its maiden branch in the Dhaka’s Bashundhara City Shopping Mall. To celebrate 18th anniversary, Star Cineplex organised a gala event on Saturday night at its SKS Tower branch in Mohakhali, which was joined by an ensemble cast of celebrities and media personalities. Popular actors and directors including Chanchal Chowdhury, Azmeri Haque Badhan, Saimon Sadik, Sumon Anowar, Chayanika Chowdhury; the entire team of the upcoming film ‘Damal’ featuring Siam Ahmed, Bidya Sinha Saha Mim, Shariful Razz, Rashed Mamun Apu, director Raihan Rafi; the team of ‘Operation Sundarban’ including Roshan, director Dipankar Dipon; Star Cineplex produced and National Award-winning film ‘No Dorai’ famed actress Sunehra Binte Kamal and others joined the celebration with Star Cineplex.  “We started our journey 18 years ago with a dream that has now become a reality — that audiences will return to the theatres. Our first two years were spent making people realise what we are offering: the Dolby Atmos surround system, the high definition screens and more. Eventually, the moviegoers gave us their support and we are amazed to observe the love we got from our audiences, filmmakers, artists, journalists and other associates over these years,” Star Cineplex parent company ShowMotion Limited Chairman Mahboob Rahman Ruhel said at the event. Sharing his gratitude, he told UNB that Star Cineplex is forever indebted to movie lovers, associates and the local media for a particular reason. "We struggled from the very beginning but things got out of control during the COVID-19 lockdown. Our halls were closed for such a long time, we could not pay our rent to the Bashundhara City authority and as a result, we announced the closing of that branch as we received an eviction notice. The way our beloved moviegoers and media friends helped us at the time, it was unbelievable and that eventually saved the original branch," Ruhel told UNB. At the event, he announced that the Cineplex authority is already coming up with new branches in major cities and after the commercial and critical success of ‘No Dorai’, Star Cineplex is set to produce 4 new films. “We initially had a dream that within 18 years, we would have 100 screens — but due to circumstances, we could not open more than 18 screens. That is going to be changed in the coming days, as we are opening new screens almost all over the country. We are very thankful to the government as new theatre entrepreneurs have become eligible to get low-interest loans, which will eventually help the industry grow more,” Star Cineplex chairman said. Cineplex authority congratulated the teams of ‘Poran’ and ‘Hawa’ at the event. The latter has broken Cineplex’s highest-grossing record of all time, according to Ruhel. The ceremony ended with cutting cake with the stars, celebrating the 18th birthday of the first Bangladeshi multiplex chain. This was followed by the screenings of two Hollywood films at Star Cineplex — ‘The Woman King’ and ‘The Free Fall.’