The film industry’s unforeseen revival

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Recently, the trailer for Raihan Rafi’s “Damal” was released, much to the delight of cinema-goers who have been enjoying a steady stream of quality projects. The Siam Ahmed, Bidya Sinha Mim and Shariful Razz starrer tells the story of the historic Shadhin Bangla Football Team, led by Zakaria Pintu. The film is currently reaping the benefits of a revitalised film landscape, where netizens are planning their schedules as to when they will go and see a film in theatres.

It was not too long ago when, amidst the wave of ground-breaking OTT projects, many had written-off the Bangla film industry. Frankly, it was hard not to—with the dwindling number of cinema halls made worse by the pandemic, and the ease of access to shiny new content available every other weekend from the comfort of your own homes.

Both “Hawa” and “Poran” have helped revive near-dead cinema halls all over the country, as well as inaugurate new ones. Be it Jessore’s Monihar Hall which saw record revenues, or Sylhet’s Grand Cineplex opening to optimistic responses, it seems that the surge is not over yet.

On top of that, Shakib Khan, arguably the biggest star in the industry, had seemingly lost interest in Dhallywood owing to the multitude of politically charged smear campaigns, and the Film Artistes’ Association election that was nothing short of a fiasco.