Quenching the thirst of movie buffs in Chattogram, the country's largest multiplex chain -- Star Cineplex -- will open its maiden theatre in the port city at Bali Arcade Shopping Complex in the Chawkbazar area.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel on Thursday evening. The agreement was signed by Mahboob Rahman Ruhel, chairman of Show Motion Limited, and Aftab Alam, chairman, The Casablanca Limited.

At a press meet, it was informed that the multiplex is planned to be launched in the middle of next year (2022). This spacious multiplex will have three halls with seating arrangements for 400 moviegoers.

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The halls will be constructed following world-class cinema hall standards, including an aesthetic environment, state-of-the-art visuals on the giant screen, and high-quality Dolby sound systems, the organisers informed. 

'We have already announced plans to build many cinema halls across the country. The work of implementing that plan has been continuously going on. This initiative will continue to expand the country's film industry, and it will enthral the movie lovers in Chittagong who expect a world-class multiplex like Star Cineplex,” Mahboob Rahman Ruhel, chairman of Star Cineplex, told reporters.

Explaining the venture, Ruhel added, “I myself am from Chittagong, and many have asked me to open this branch as this is a long-standing demand of the movie lovers in Chittagong. I wanted to fulfil this demand a long ago but due to the pandemic and some other reasons, we could not open it earlier. So this marks a jovial occasion for me, personally.” 

Bangladesh’s first multiplex cinema hall Star Cineplex was launched on October 6, 2004, at Bashundhara City Shopping Mall in the capital. Currently, Star Cineplex is operating four branches in Dhaka at Bashundhara City in Panthapath, Shimanto Shambhar in Dhanmondi, Sony Square in Mirpur and SKS Tower, Mohakhali. 

"We had a plan to launch more than a hundred single screens inside our multiplexes, as part of our countrywide expansion masterplan. Due to the pandemic havoc, we had to compromise that plan, now having only 14 screens inside our four multiplexes; however, my dream is to fulfill that target as soon as possible,” Ruhel had told UNB earlier.

READ: Star Cineplex to continue screening movies at Bashundhara City

Outside Dhaka, two branches are under construction, at Bogura and Rajshahi.