The cinema of Bangladesh, rarely referred to as Dhallywood, has had a significant effect on Asia. Bangladesh has had a significant film industry since the 80's. Film production reached an all-time high in 1990, a period referred to as the golden age of Bangladeshi cinema. During the 1990s, the Bangladeshi film industry produced some of the biggest films in the history of Bangladeshi Cinema. As of 2013, the Bangladeshi film industry grossed around $62mn in the domestic market from 120 releases, making Bangladesh the 10th largest film producing country in the world. According to film pundits, the Bangladeshi film industry is growing at a very fast pace in recent years. 2014 has proved to be an excellent year for the film industry, with some of movies being the highest grossing Bangladeshi films of all time. The Bangladeshi film industry has its beginnings with the 1931 production of Last Kiss; the earliest feature film ever made in what would become Bangladesh. However, the first ever screening of films in Bangladesh started on April 24, 1898 by Bradford Bioscope Company at the Crown theater near Dhaka harbour. Commercially successful Bangladeshi films have included Tojammel Haq's The Gypsy Daughter, AJ Khan's The face and the mask, Giashuddin Selim's Monpura, Ashiqur Rahman's Kistimaat and Iftakar Chowdhury's Agnee. Bangladeshi Film Industry is the second largest film industry in South Asia after Bollywood and as of 2014, it is the ninth largest in Asia terms of revenue.
History
Origin
The history of the cinema of Bangladesh dates back to 1898, when the Bradford Bioscope Company arranged the screening of a film at the Crown Theater near Dhaka Harbour, which became the first film ever to be released in Bangladesh. Bangladesh started the journey of its own production in 1913, with "New Picture House" becoming the first theater to be built in present day Bangladesh.
On 28 December 1895 in Paris De Café, the Lumiere brothers started the first commercial bioscope show. After 6 months, the Lumiere Brothers started the screening of their films in Dhaka, becoming the first established bioscope of the subcontinent. The first ever films to be released in Bangladesh were The Jubli Michil, Greek-Turkey Battle, The Jump of Princess Diana, The Game of Snow and The French Underground Railway.
Silent Era
The first Bengali silent film, “Bless the World†was released on 8 November in 1919 under the direction of Jotish Banerjee from the French Madden Company. There were eighty theaters in Bangladesh during that time. In 1927-28, the Dhaka Royal family stepped forward and produced a short film named The Good Girl. After the success of The Good Girl, the Royal family went for a bigger venture. They set up the Dhaka East Bengal Cinematograph Society and produced a full-length silent movie titled The Last Kiss, the first Bangladeshi full-length silent film.
Early development
By 1947, there were around 80 cinemas in what is now Bangladesh.
The first Bengali organization for producing and exhibiting films was the Royal Bioscope Company, established in the 1890s in Calcutta by Hiralal Sen. Although feature films were made in Bengali as early as 1919 (Bilwa Mangal), most production was done in Calcutta. The Nawab family of Dhaka produced Sukumari (1928â€"1929) and The Last Kiss (1931).
Pakistan Era
After the partition of India in 1947, the first film made in East Pakistan was a newsreel about the visit of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, produced in 1948 by the radio broadcaster Nazir Ahmed.
The first full-length feature film with sound made in East Pakistan was Mukh O Mukhosh, which was produced by Abdul Jabbar Khan and released on August 3, 1956. Editing, printing and all other film processing for this movie was done in Lahore, Pakistan.
The East Bengal Provincial Assembly established the East Pakistan Film Development Corporation (EPFDC) on April 3, 1957. The first film produced by this organization was Asiya (The Life of a Village Girl, 1960), directed by Fateh Lohani. During the late 1960s, between 20 and 35 films were produced each year.
In the 1960s one of the prominent directors of East Bengal was Zahir Raihan. Some of his work was Kokhono Asheni, Kancher Deyal, Dui Bhai, Shangam, Let their be light, Jibon Theke Neya. In 1971 he made a documentary on the "Liberation War of Bangladesh," Stop Genocide, which was one of the first internationally acclaimed film in Bangladesh.
Present
During 1990s, Bangladeshi films started losing a large sector of audience because of lack of quality. The film directors started giving more attention to film's music, dance and other elements instead of story and screenplay.Some also began to add action and intense scenes. A few director began to imitate and copy foreign films, mostly Indian films. Hence,the fims could attract only the urban living small income people.
During 2000s, Bangladeshi films began doing poor business and initially, the numbers of films decreased. The term 'Bangla Cinema' became a matter of joke among the people. Though there always have been some independent film makers who attempt to make movies in a good manner, their work attract only a few audience.
After declining during most of the 2000s, the Bangladeshi film industry bounced back after 2009. With the help of the Bangladeshi Government and the emergence of giant production companies, the Bangladeshi film industry is growing at a fast pace. Since 2010, Bangladesh has developed several large production and distribution companies, such as Jaaz Multimedia and Tiger Media Limited and the films produced by them have been doing better business than the others for their large budget and glamorous appearance. But these films hardly catch the educated audience living in rural and urban areas.
The year 2014 proved to be the most profitable year, while 2015 is already the biggest, with some of Bangladesh'es biggest films lined up for release. Bollywood's Reliance Entertainment Limited has expressed their interest in producing Bangladeshi films. However, the Bangladesh Film Corporation didn't respond due to the ban on Indian films in Bangladesh.
Government Support
Bangladesh Government played a huge role behind the re-emergence of Bangladesh films. With help of Bangladesh Government, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Bangladesh successfully eliminated piracy, illegal screenings and other illegal factors that affected the industry in the past. Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) was established as an assistance hub for Bangladesh Cinema. Bangladesh Government also spends about $6.0 million annually towards the development of Bangladeshi Art Cinema.
Important Figures
Actors
Actresses
Directors
Notable films
Classics
Modern era films
Cult films
Commercial successes
Highest Grossing Bangladeshi Films
Major Events
Festivals
- Dhaka International Film Festival
- Bangladesh Short Film Forum
- International Short and Independent Film Festival
- International Children's Film Festival
Awards
- National Film Awards
- Meril Prothom Alo Awards
- Ifad Film Club Award
- Lux Channel I Performance Award
- Babisas Award
- Green Bangla Binodon Bichitra Performance Award
See also
- List of Bangladeshi films
- Cinema of the world
- Cinema of United States
- Cinema of Pakistan
- Cinema of France
References
External links
- IMDb: Database of Bangladeshi Films