The Commerce Ministry of Bangladesh was set to lift a ban on public commercial import and exhibition of Indian films in Bangladeshi cinema theaters. That move will now be scrapped.
The Commerce Minstry was set to lift a ban placed on exhibitions of Indian films in 1972 to nurture Bangladesh’s then nascent film industry. The film industry has not taken this opportunity to produce quality cinema that might compete with a generations long love and fascination with Indian cinema and film-making. Due to this dearth of supply of quality entertainment, for years Bangladeshi’s have flocked to videotapes and now, pirated DVD’s of popular Indian cinema entertainment. Lifting the ban would have been tantamount to institutionalizing already popular behavior and incentivizing a lagging industry to compete for the attention of a growing middle-class hungry for a larger menu of entertainment options.
Now within growing tumult within the professional classes of actors and producers in Bangladesh and the obvious possibility that the BNP will use this recent news as illustration of the government increasing coziness–BNP activists might say servility–with the Indian government, the AL government has backed off its initial move.
This is a strange set of events. The films that make most Indians and Bangladeshis who care about cinema gleam with pride fall within that lyrical family of story-telling propounded by giants of world cinema like Satyajith Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak. These men admitted to a concern for the quiet lives and sullen loneliness of Bengalis who went about their business on both sides of the border. It is high time that Bengalis and Bangladeshis return to that form of storytelling, now in the manner of the prodigal son.
For far too long, the government has allowed its failing film industry to churn out the drek that make for decorative paintings on the side of rickshaws. This move held the promise that, finally, the film industry would be forced move to make a good product for an enthusiastic audience. This promise seems to have been deferred–perhaps, now, indefinitely.
