2022 was a year of revelation in more ways than one for the over-the-top (OTT) platforms of Bangladesh, a rising medium in the country following the footsteps of global ones such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, and Disney Hotstar. When it comes to the potential audience base in Bangladesh, OTT platforms are just getting started here. But with rising demand, driven by local content and live sports, the future looks promising. The pandemic was not over this year. But carrying the success of the pandemic-induced 2020-2021 forward, the local OTT platforms – namely Chorki, HoiChoi, Bioscope, and Binge – brought several contents to enthral the audience. On December 18, a record 15.5 million unique viewers watched the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final between Argentina and France on Toffee, the only digital entertainment app which livestreamed the sports event in Bangladesh, said Banglalink which operates the platform. Read: The year in music: A melodious, rocking 2022 Also, Toffee hit a new milestone garnering around 1 billion views of "the greatest show on earth," it added. Football fans across the country turned to Toffee to enjoy every World Cup match, starting from November 18 to December 18. For the first time in Bangladesh, millions of viewers opted for a digital platform to watch the tournament, which was previously only broadcast on TV. Also, over the last two years, the rise of OTT platforms not only offered a breath of fresh air to audiences but also helped many popular actors and creators to rediscover and redefine their acting skills and explore the magic of creative independence. Read: Fuad enthrals Dhaka with popular tracks in night of nostalgia Seasoned and popular actors, including Intekhab Dinar, Afran Nisho, Chanchal Chowdhury, Mosharraf Karim, Apurba, Siam Ahmed, Ziaul Haque Polash, Pritom Ahmed, Mehazabien Chowdhury, Nazifa Tushi, Tasnia Farin and others were seen in different dramas and web series, and they received profound success and critical acclaim for their performances. Content makers and directors such as Nuhash Humayun, Shihab Shaheen, Tanim Nur, Syed Ahmed Shawki, Ashfaq Nipun, Raihan Rafi, Vicky Zahed, Amitabh Reza and others mesmerised the audiences throughout the year with content such as "Kaiser," "Pet Kata Shaw," "Karagar," "Syndicate," "Bodh," "Sabrina," "Punorjonmo" and others. "Shaaticup" from Chorki was a breakout content of the year, directed by Mohammad Touqir Islam which narrated a crime thriller featuring Rajshahi's local dialect and a cast of 137 actors for its eight episodes. Young filmmaker Nuhash Humayun, however, was the standout filmmaker on the web this year for glamorising the horror genre. His web series "Pett Kata Shaw" by Chorki starring Shohel Mondol, Shirin Akter Shila, Afzal Hossain, Chanchal Chowdhury, Pritom Hasan, Masuda Khan, Novera Rahman and more garnered massive appraisal from audiences and critics for being the modern revival of the mysterious and lurid plots of traditional Bengali folk tales, earning him an official selection for the upcoming 52nd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). Read More: 5 Best Movies of Vidya Balan Nuhash's other major project of 2022 representing the same genre, "Moshari," earned him two awards at two "Oscar-qualifying" film festivals (HollyShorts Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival). Earlier this year, he got signed with the Hollywood agencies Anonymous Content and Creative Artists Agency, and later he made the Halloween special dark-comedy "Foreigners Only" from the global OTT platform Hulu as its first Bangladeshi content maker. Also, the year 2022 has, perhaps, been the most eventful one for the big screen compared to recent years. In January, the seventeenth biennale edition of the Bangladesh Film Artistes' Association (BFAA) election was held, resulting in veteran silver screen actor Ilias Kanchan getting elected as the new president for 2022-2024. Read More: ‘I wasn’t necessarily acting’: Chanchal Chowdhury on ‘Karagar-2’ The talk of the town, however, was the post of the general secretary (GS) – for which, actor Zayed Khan was declared the winner over actress Nipun Akter in a close contest. But Nipun refused the result and filed an appeal to the Election Appeal Board of the BFAA. After that, the board declared Nipun as the GS. Then Zayed filed a writ petition against the decision to the High Court of the Supreme Court. In March, the court cleared the way for Zayed to serve as the GS of the BFFA after striking down the decision of the Election Appeal Board of the association. Next Nipun filed a petition against the decision to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Read More: Netflix New Release January 2023: 10 Most Hyped English Movies, Series In November, after months of back-and-forth between Nipun and Zayed, the Appellate Division finally cleared the way for Nipun to serve as the GS. Of all the films released this year, two Dhallywood films – "Hawa" and "Poran" – were the most notable and successful ones, breaking records everywhere. Raihan Rafi directed Poran starring Sariful Razz, Bidya Sinha Mim and Yash Rohan and inspired by the Rifat murder case in Barishal, competed against another much-talked-about film, Ananta Jalil starrer and produced "Din – The Day" on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha this year. Poran was acclaimed by both the audiences and the multiplex and single-screen owners while Ananta and director – Iranian filmmaker Morteza Atashzamzam threatened legal actions against each other following several suave exchanges of verbal blows between them surrounding the real budget and release of the movie. Read More: Top 10 Upcoming South Indian Films in January 2023 However, the biggest blockbuster over recent years was Mejbaur Rahman Sumon directed film "Hawa." The Chanchal Chowdhury-Nazifa Tushi-Shariful Razz starrer film garnered a massive audience response across the country and broke revenue records both at home and beyond while creating a great buzz on mainstream and social media with its catchy songs like "Shada Shada Kala Kala" and "Aat Ta Baje Deri Korish Na." The cinema industry also observed other major releases this year, including Siam Ahmed starrer "Shaan" and "Operation Sundarbans," Shakib Khan's "Golui" and "Bidrohi," Sariful Razz-Bidya Sinha Mim and Siam starrer "Damal," and Jaya Ahsan's "Beauty Circus." Mim, Nazifa Tushi and Puja Cherry were the breakout actresses in the industry this year. Shabnam Bubly, Apu Biswas, Pori Moni and Barsha remained embroiled in controversy for their comments and fights throughout 2022. Read More: 'Adventure of Sundarban': Trail of children's film starring Pori Moni, Siam released However, the entire film fraternity was seen unified in support of acclaimed filmmaker Mostafa Sarwar Farooki, and his battle against the Censor Board for the release of his much-anticipated film "Shonibar Bikel" (Saturday Afternoon).

Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain gave his life rather than leave behind  his friends. A movie is being made in Bollywood portraying the heroism and sacrifice of Faraaz. On July 1, 2016, a brutal militant attack took place at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan. A total of 26 people were killed in the attack, including 17 foreigners, two police officers, and six gunmen. According to the T-Series, one of the largest production companies in India, the movie "Faraaz" will feature the story of the Holey Artisan massacre. Dhaka's Holey Artisan Cafe Attack at a Glance On the night of the incident, five militants Rohan Imtiaz, Nibras Islam, Mir Samih Mobasher, Khairul Islam Payel, and Shafiqul Islam Uzzal, went to Gulshan Road No. 79 from a house in Bashundhara residential area. Five people entered the restaurant with weapons and bombs in their bags at around 9 pm. As soon as they entered, they randomly fired at foreigners sitting at various tables there. Further, the terrorists also hit them in the neck and body with a sharp weapon to ensure death. The militants shot and killed the Italians as they entered a large room downstairs. They then shot and killed the foreigners sitting on chairs and tables inside the rest of the rooms. The militants took hostage more than 50 local and foreign men and women inside the cafe. They then search for the foreigners hiding in bakery bathrooms, toilets, ceilings, kitchens, chiller rooms and shoot them dead. Moreover, those with serious injuries were also stabbed to death with sharp knives. Read: Coming soon: A Bollywood film on Dhaka cafe massacre! At the same time, they took hostage the family of a man named Hasnat Karim sitting at the bakery table, an Indian citizen named Saat Prakash, Tahmid, and his two friends. Later, they took about 15 bakery workers hostage.