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Cinema of Bangladesh
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South Asian cinema
The Bangladeshi film industry is based in Dhaka and is also called Dallywood
(a portmanteau of the words Dhaka and Hollywood), Dhallywood, or Dhaliwood.
As of 2004, it produced approximately 100 movies a year. The average movie's
budget was about 6,500,000 Bangladeshi taka.
On April 24, 1898, the Bengali weekly Dhaka Prokash reported that films were
shown in Dhaka by the Bredford Bioscope Company, at the Crown Theatre, in
Patuatuli, near Sadarghat. The show included news items and other short
features. The first permanent cinema in Dhaka, named Picture House, began
operation during 1913–1914. This cinema was renamed to New Picture House and
then again to Shabistan. By 1947 there were around 80 cinemas in what is now
Bangladesh.[4],[5]
The first Bengali organization for producing and exhibiting films was the
Royal Bioscope Company, established in 1898 in Calcutta by Hira Lal 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 (1928–1929) and The Last Kiss (1931).The Bangladeshi film industry
has often been criticized for producing low-quality films whose only appeal
is that of sex, violence, or melodrama.
The Bangladeshi film industry has often been criticized for producing
low-quality films whose only appeal is that of sex, violence, or melodrama.
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. Production quantity continued to increase after Bangladesh gained
its independence on December 16, 1971; in 1979, for example, 51 films were
released, and in the 1990s over 90 films per year were released.
Recently, the Bangladeshi film industry has faced increased competition from
foreign films, satellite TV, home video, and other sources. Viewership of
Bangladeshi films has dropped, and the industry has been criticized for
producing low-quality films whose only appeal is that of sex, violence, or
melodrama.[16],[3]
Matir Moina is the first film from Bangladesh that received official
submission for academy award.
Matir Moina is the first film from Bangladesh that received official
submission for academy award.
Although the majority of the films made in Bangladesh are strictly
commercial in nature, a handful of directors from Bangladesh have attained
critical acclamation for their outstanding work. Zahir Raihan, Humayun
Ahmed, Tanvir Mokammel, Tareque Masud are among those prominent directors.
Bangladesh has been officially submitting nominations for the Academy Award
for Best Foreign Language Film from 2003. The following films have so far
been nominated:
* Matir Moina, directed by Tareque Masud in 2003;
* Shyamol Chaya, directed by Humayun Ahmed in 2006;
* Nirontor, directed by Abu Sayeed in 2007.
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