Rethinking Islam with Sultan Shahin

Islamic Culture

13 Apr 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com Dhallywood comes to Delhi: Award-Winning Movies From Bangladesh To Be Screened The quality of commercial films in Bangladesh has always been a bone of contention. In 2003, film producers and artists went on strike accusing each other of bringing obscenity to movies. But the last few years have seen a tremendous change, says, Mahbub Hassan Saleh, counselor, Bangladesh High Commission. There has been an improvement in the thematic and technical making of movies, he says. The films being screened in the festival, he says, not only showcase the history of the country but also reflect the contemporary social fabric of Bangladesh. -- Insiya Amir Dhallywood comes to Delhi: Award-Winning Movies From Bangladesh To Be Screened By Insiya Amir New Delhi: Recently, moviegoers in the country were introduced to films from Pakistan. Now, they have the opportunity to watch movies from yet another neighbour  Bangladesh. From April 16-18,some of the finest films from this countrys film industry, Dhallywood, a portmanteaus of Dhaka and Hollywood, will be screened in the capital. The seven films that will be on show are a good mix of serious cinema and sheer entertainment. There is the critically acclaimed Matir Moina that won the International Critics Prize in 2002 and was hailed by The New York Times as one of the finest films of this year or any other, while The Guardian called it a nuanced riposte to Islamophobia. Another award-winning film is Joyjatra, set during Bangladeshs liberation war. The films director Tauquir Ahmed says that critical success does not necessarily translate into commercial success. He says he went broke after producing his first film because the audience in Bangladesh is still not ready to appreciate movies that portray harsh reality. The quality of commercial films in Bangladesh has always been a bone of contention. In 2003, film producers and artists went on strike accusing each other of bringing obscenity to movies. But the last few years have seen a tremendous change, says, Mahbub Hassan Saleh, counselor, Bangladesh High Commission. There has been an improvement in the thematic and technical making of movies, he says. The films being screened in the festival, he says, not only showcase the history of the country but also reflect the contemporary social fabric of Bangladesh. While Joyjatra is set in 1971,Ayna is a story about the trials that women in the predominantly Muslim country face. Its director, Sarah Kabori, is not just the grand old actress of Dhallywood but is also a politician and a social worker. Her film is about an acid attack victim, a problem, the 62-year-old filmmaker says, that is still very prevalent in rural Bangladesh. Whether as an actress or as a director, Kaboris films are usually about the social issues her country faces. The film industry in Bangladesh is small; it makes about 100 films a year, and this number is said to have dwindled drastically over the last few years. The issues it tackles are many. Piracy is one of them and has taken a toll on the industry. Between 1990 and 2000,300 of the 1,200 cinema halls in the country were reportedly shut down and many of the remaining are struggling. The industry is also irked by their governments recent decision (April 8) to lift the ban imposed in 1965 to import and screen Indian films. While artistes are agitated, cinema owners have been demanding imports to ensure their survival. Another issue of the film industry is satellite channels. In fact, one of the biggest and most well-known producers, Faridur Reza Sagar, releases the movies he produces in cinema halls as well as the television channel he owns. Sagar, who has produced five of the seven films being screened, says it was after successfully running a movie channel that he decided to produce films in 2003. The Bangladeshi film industry has a long way to go, he says. I do think our films should be made in languages other than Bangla but things are changing. We have many young filmmakers who are changing cinema here. I prefer producing and watching films that are based in urban Bangladesh and are about young people. Thats what young moviegoers want, he says. Source: Times of India, New Delhi URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicCulture_1.aspx?ArticleID=2686