On festive occasions, such as the two Eids in the country, movies were the only premium medium of mass entertainment in Bangladesh. Sadly the situation suffered a drastic change ever since Dhallyood — mainstream Dhaka film industry— took a turn for the worse, courtesy of periods marked by obscenity and substandard films.
Especially when it comes to Eid, television dramas conquered more media space and grabbed public discourse than Bangladeshi movies — at least that has been the scenario for a while.
Thanks to the latter’s recent resurrection with meaningful stories, melodious songs and increasing fandom among urban crowds, Bangladeshi movies are being discussed on Eid once again, even with lasting aftermaths.
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It can be said that the Dhallywood film industry is returning to a new horizon in terms of business. After suffering the wrath of COVID-19 pandemic for two years, the industry bounced back with films like 'Poran' and 'Din - the Day' on last year's Eid-ul-Azha, followed by the massively successful 'Hawa'.
Until a few years ago, actor Shakib Khan was considered the only strong pillar in the entire industry. Although he still is, a handful of young and talented actors and brilliant filmmakers have changed the face of Dhallywood including Mezbaur Rahman Sumon, Raihan Rafi, Topu Khan and others.
Shortage of talented young filmmakers has been in the industry for a long time. Along with this, audience demand for quality Bangla cinema also increased during the Eid festivals.
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What was needed next was regularity. Audience demand for quality films during this year's Eid-ul-Fitr and now, Eid-ul-Azha, are the results of that continuation.
This Eid-ul-Azha, a total of five movies are having their theatrical release on Eid day — 'Priyotoma', 'Surongo', 'Prohelika', 'Lal Shari' and 'Casino'.
Shakib Khan's movies are always ahead in terms of hall bookings, and this Eid-ul-Azha is no exception. His interesting looks for the film 'Priyotoma' already stunned the anticipating audiences, and director Himel Ashraf told UNB that this movie is releasing in 107 halls.
Produced by Arshad Adnan, the film is a romantic action story written by the late Faruk Hossain. Indian actress Edhika Pal is the lead actress opposite Shakib, and the film also has an ensemble cast including Kazi Hayat, Shahiduzzaman Selim, Elina Shammi, Don, Shahid Nabi and others.
Afran Nisho, widely considered as one of the finest actors of the television and OTT industry in the country, is all set to make his big screen debut this Eid-ul-Azha. Directed by Raihan Rafi, the film 'Surongo' is going to be released on Eid and already got about 30 halls across the country which will be increased later, according to Rafi.
Actress Toma Mirza stars in 'Surongo' opposite Nisho, and this movie will be released in Kolkata after Eid, the makers confirmed at a recent press conference.
Another surprise this Eid is the Mahfuz Ahmed starrer film 'Prohelika'. Mahfuz, one of the superstars of the television industry, who has been off the screen for a long time, is returning with the movie alongside Shobnom Bubly, and the duo teamed up with acclaimed director Chayanika Chowdhury for this movie.
The film is produced by Jamal Hossain with the story, dialogues and screenplay by Pantha Shahriar.
Actress Apu Biswas is debuting as a producer this Eid as her movie 'Lal Shari', which received a government grant, is being released.
Apart from the production, Apu Biswas is also acting as the female lead and the film is directed by Bandhan Biswas. Actor Symon Sadiq has teamed up with Apu for the first time in this film.
After the Eid-ul-Fitr, director Saikat Nasir is back with another release on this Eid as well. Popular actors Nirab Hossain and Shobnom Bubly have teamed up in this movie titled 'Casino' alongside Taskin Rahman,m and others.
"There was a time when we suffered due to the shortage of quality films," said Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, Senior Manager, Media and Marketing at Star Cineplex. "Thankfully, the filmmakers are now bringing up such good stories that we have been getting great responses from our audiences on festive occasions like Eid."