Bangla movie business is dull

Eid is a good season for movie business but this time around we don't see much enthusiasm among distributors and theatre owners. Bangla movie industry cannot survive only on actor Shakib Khan's movies. The number of moviegoers has already declined sharply and none can blame them in view of the dirty atmosphere of the Bangladeshi theatres. In Dhaka, some movie theatres have been transformed into shopping malls.

Unlike the earlier trend, hardly anyone watches Bangladeshi movie in the theatres during the Eid holidays. Of course, a key reason for this decline is lack of stars in today's Bangladeshi film industry. As a step to encourage competition and thus help improve quality and bring the audience back to cinema halls, the government may allow screening of foreign films. Such a step will also help theatre owners survive lean business.

Mohammed Fahim

Moghbazar, Dhaka