Exploring the commercial identity of Bangladeshi cinema

Despite massive technological progress around the world over the past few decades, cinema still remains one of the most popular mediums of entertainment. Bangladesh is no exception, especially in areas outside capital Dhaka, where it remains a prominent component of popular culture. But after crossing difficult terrains over the past decades, the status of the film industry in Bangladesh is still not very robust. Many cinemas have been closed down in the recent years due to an increasingly negative attitude towards going to these halls among the film audiences. Many movie makers are now striving hard for making the spectators go back to the cinemas, but their efforts are not producing desired results. Besides, not many quality researches have been carried out in Bangladesh on the commercial potential of local movies. Against this backdrop, the book Bangladesher Chalachchitra Shilper Banijjyik Swarup Onusandhan (Search for the Commercial Identity of Bangladeshi Cinema) written by Khan Ferdousour Rahman and published by the government entity Bangladesh Film Archive is a pioneering initiative in the field.
The book is an output of the research fellowship programme for 2014-15 of the Bangladesh Film Archive. Apart from a detailed introductory chapter on the rationale, objectives, methodology, scope and limitations of the study, the three main chapters of the book cover the nature of the research, theoretical framework, literature review, research question, genesis and background of Bangladeshi cinema, along with the related political economy, various initiatives and recent controversies as well as detailed findings of a research survey. The appendices include questionnaire for the survey of movie-goers and interviews of important personalities relevant to the film industry including the information minister.
In the concluding chapter, the author has done a stock-taking and detailed assessment of the current status of cinema in Bangladesh. Although movie-making was declared an industry by the government in 2012, it did not have much of an impact on improving the situation. The demands of film makers for easy availability of loans, lesser duty on imported equipment and raw materials, reduced price of power, technological assistance - all these are yet to materialise. For sustainability of the industry, investments made for films must bear the expected fruits; and for this, the size and quality of audiences need to attain fast expansion. But this is not happening as the local movies are failing to satisfy both the middle and low-income classes of people. A classic example of the dwindling fortune of cinemas (popularly known as halls) in Bangladesh is the dismantling of the Gulistan cinema (that also housed Naz), built in 1952, and once a landmark spot of capital Dhaka. Sadly, it has now been converted into a shopping centre, and plans for installing two Cineplex facilities in the building could not be implemented because of interventions by vested interests.
The cinema is a technology-driven art form, but inadequacy of modern equipment has remained a perennial problem in Bangladesh. This is evident from the 'facilities' provided by the state-owned Film Development Corporation (FDC), ranging from sound recording and mixing, editing, projection, to even photography. The digitalisation of our film industry is now a demand of time if we are to keep pace with the outside world. According to the book's author, the components of the film industry are producers (makers), factories (FDC), products (films), sellers (distributors, and exhibitors or halls), and buyers (spectators). All these segments play vital roles in the growth of the industry. Although FDC has many of the facilities, there are complaints that attitude and outlook of its officials and staff are not business-friendly, and there remains much room for improvements in this area.
If the audiences cannot be drawn to cinemas, then making films in large numbers does not make any sense. The rate of movie-going among the quality-conscious spectators has gradually diminished over the years. Even the attendance of ordinary working class people has also declined in the recent years. As a result, majority of the commercial films in Bangladesh are embracing the fate of becoming flops. Many hall owners have now left this business or opted for other ventures. It would have been best if those halls could be gradually replaced by multiplexes in different towns and cities of the country, but that trend is still missing in Bangladesh. This is contrary to the global trend, where multiplexes are quite common in cities and towns, even in the emerging economies of Asia, Africa and the Americas. An example in point is our capital Dhaka, which has probably the least number of multiplexes among the major cities of South Asia. Consequently, more investments in Cineplex in the towns and cities of the country can revive the fortune of Bangladeshi film industry and the government can play a lead role in facilitating this.
Based on his research, the author observes that although the film industry in Bangladesh faces numerous problems, its potential is also enormous.  His recommendations for improving the situation include: attracting additional numbers of talented film makers by enhancing the number and volume of government grants and subsidies for film making; converting FDC into heart and soul of film making in the country through adoption of proper development plans and their swift implementation; giving fuller shape to the recently established Bangladesh Film and Television Institute and linking it to FDC; inclusion of film making courses in public and private universities of the country; replacing the film censor laws of the colonial era with modern laws reflecting the demands of time and introducing certification-cum-rating system in the sector; the movie industry should also enjoy tax benefits and the government should play a more direct role in holding events and festivals related to our filmdom.
Other recommendations of the author include providing tax holidays and credit facilities to cinema owners for reviving and modernising these dwindling structures all over the country, provision of incentives by the government for construction of Cineplex in large numbers in order to attract newer generations of movie-goers, and formulation of a national film policy for encouraging the production of quality films and providing guidelines on their import, export and exhibition.
Dr. Helal Uddin Ahmed is a former editor of Bangladesh Quarterly, and currently a freelance writer-cum-translator.
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Bangladesher Chalachchitra Shilper Banijjyik Swarup Onusandhan
(Search for the Commercial Identity of Bangladeshi Cinema)
By Khan Ferdousour Rahman
Published by Bangladesh Film Archive, June 2016
Price: Taka 150