Sheikh Arif Bulbon :
The world is still spooling with an unprecedented time and consequences of Coronavirus. The reopening of businesses and living with the ‘new normal’ are bringing several changes to lives and livelihoods in comparison to the pre-lockdown era. Still, some businesses are yet to fully reopen around the world such as movie theatres or cinema halls and this industry in Bangladesh has been eagerly waiting for the reopening.
The question of ‘survival’ has never emerged with this much intensity in the timeline of the country’s cinema industry, as the people in Bangladesh are generally known as the movie-loving, which is called ‘filmy’ people. Movies have always been an integral part of their lives and theatres have been one of the major recreational places for families. In Bangladesh, there are approximately 194 cinema halls and cineplexes, which are still operating, from having approximately 1,200 halls all over the country in the decades between 1990s to 2010.
The country’s first international standard multiplex chain Star Cineplex has recently announced shutting down of its successful debut branch in Bashundhara City in Dhaka and major cinema halls including Purnima, Rajmoni and Ovishar have already been closed while other vintage halls like Balaka, Modhumita and more have been suffering losses for ages.
Outside of the capital, the scenario for this business has been terrible, even before the arrival of Coronavirus in the country. As the pandemic started impacting lives and livelihood all over the country, that became a nightmare for the film industry. Now with the lockdown and other restrictions imposed to deal with the virus officially lifted, the cinema hall owners and the entire film industry are hopeful again for resurgence, after the government announced specific plans for the revival of the movie-business.
On August 25, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked the authorities concerned to create a special fund to provide financial support to the owners of cinema halls through a big project, in order to revive their business through grants and loans.
Two days later, Information Minister Hasan Mahmud called a meeting with leaders of Bangladesh Film Producers-Distributors-Directors Association at the Secretariat and said that the government is monitoring the situation and will announce its decision on reopening the theatres after September 15.
President of Bangladesh Film Producers-Distributors Association Khorshed Alam Khosru said in a statement on the present scenario, “We are very much thankful to the Prime Minister for taking the necessary steps to save our cinema and the halls. The crisis situation is frustrating for everyone associated with the film industry. The audience will come back again if the continuous flow of both local and international movie releases can be ensured and the halls must have to operate following the Coronavirus health guidelines. We are waiting to embrace the resurgence in the industry.”
Amid the fear of Coronavirus, the surviving cinema halls all over the country have been in lockdown mode since March 18 and it has caused havoc in the cinema industry bringing losses for producers, actors, directors, associated casts and crew members and most importantly, the cinema halls – where the audience see the movies. That concept, however, has been rapidly changing for a long time with the availability of options to the viewers. It started with the mass-availability of cable TV connections which allowed the viewers to watch movies at home, outside of the theatre – and the practice increasingly continued with the availability of computer and mobile phones at the mass level.
The piracy of movies and availability on YouTube has also created major roadblocks in this industry, against which the industry-insiders have been raising their voices for such a long time. Apparently that decreased to a consistent level and new platforms like the Over The Top (OTT) media service that offers directly to viewers via the internet with bypassing cable, broadcast and satellite television platforms, are now offering more control to the viewers to watch movies in their electronic devices, outside of the theatres.
Shakib Khan’s Bidrohi and Nabab LLB, Arifin Shuvo starring action film Mission Extreme, Siam Ahmed starring action film Shaan, Ananta Jalil’s Bangladesh-Iran joint venture film Deen-The Day, Kolkata’s superstar Dev starring Bangladeshi spy thriller film Commando, noted television director Masud Hasan Ujjal directed Unoponchash Batash and Chayanika Chowdhury directed Bishwo Sundori were some of the big-budget and much-anticipated movies scheduled to be released before the lockdown that were pushed back.
The world is still spooling with an unprecedented time and consequences of Coronavirus. The reopening of businesses and living with the ‘new normal’ are bringing several changes to lives and livelihoods in comparison to the pre-lockdown era. Still, some businesses are yet to fully reopen around the world such as movie theatres or cinema halls and this industry in Bangladesh has been eagerly waiting for the reopening.
The question of ‘survival’ has never emerged with this much intensity in the timeline of the country’s cinema industry, as the people in Bangladesh are generally known as the movie-loving, which is called ‘filmy’ people. Movies have always been an integral part of their lives and theatres have been one of the major recreational places for families. In Bangladesh, there are approximately 194 cinema halls and cineplexes, which are still operating, from having approximately 1,200 halls all over the country in the decades between 1990s to 2010.
The country’s first international standard multiplex chain Star Cineplex has recently announced shutting down of its successful debut branch in Bashundhara City in Dhaka and major cinema halls including Purnima, Rajmoni and Ovishar have already been closed while other vintage halls like Balaka, Modhumita and more have been suffering losses for ages.
Outside of the capital, the scenario for this business has been terrible, even before the arrival of Coronavirus in the country. As the pandemic started impacting lives and livelihood all over the country, that became a nightmare for the film industry. Now with the lockdown and other restrictions imposed to deal with the virus officially lifted, the cinema hall owners and the entire film industry are hopeful again for resurgence, after the government announced specific plans for the revival of the movie-business.
On August 25, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked the authorities concerned to create a special fund to provide financial support to the owners of cinema halls through a big project, in order to revive their business through grants and loans.
Two days later, Information Minister Hasan Mahmud called a meeting with leaders of Bangladesh Film Producers-Distributors-Directors Association at the Secretariat and said that the government is monitoring the situation and will announce its decision on reopening the theatres after September 15.
President of Bangladesh Film Producers-Distributors Association Khorshed Alam Khosru said in a statement on the present scenario, “We are very much thankful to the Prime Minister for taking the necessary steps to save our cinema and the halls. The crisis situation is frustrating for everyone associated with the film industry. The audience will come back again if the continuous flow of both local and international movie releases can be ensured and the halls must have to operate following the Coronavirus health guidelines. We are waiting to embrace the resurgence in the industry.”
Amid the fear of Coronavirus, the surviving cinema halls all over the country have been in lockdown mode since March 18 and it has caused havoc in the cinema industry bringing losses for producers, actors, directors, associated casts and crew members and most importantly, the cinema halls – where the audience see the movies. That concept, however, has been rapidly changing for a long time with the availability of options to the viewers. It started with the mass-availability of cable TV connections which allowed the viewers to watch movies at home, outside of the theatre – and the practice increasingly continued with the availability of computer and mobile phones at the mass level.
The piracy of movies and availability on YouTube has also created major roadblocks in this industry, against which the industry-insiders have been raising their voices for such a long time. Apparently that decreased to a consistent level and new platforms like the Over The Top (OTT) media service that offers directly to viewers via the internet with bypassing cable, broadcast and satellite television platforms, are now offering more control to the viewers to watch movies in their electronic devices, outside of the theatres.
Shakib Khan’s Bidrohi and Nabab LLB, Arifin Shuvo starring action film Mission Extreme, Siam Ahmed starring action film Shaan, Ananta Jalil’s Bangladesh-Iran joint venture film Deen-The Day, Kolkata’s superstar Dev starring Bangladeshi spy thriller film Commando, noted television director Masud Hasan Ujjal directed Unoponchash Batash and Chayanika Chowdhury directed Bishwo Sundori were some of the big-budget and much-anticipated movies scheduled to be released before the lockdown that were pushed back.
