Attacks on cinema halls in Rajshahi: Star Cineplex, Roots Cineclub vandalised

At a time when Bangladesh is going through a significant change in its history, miscreants have once again left their vicious marks on another cultural establishment — this time in two of the big movie theatres in Rajshahi division. 

The theatres are Star Cineplex's Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-Tech Park branch in Rajshahi, and Roots Cineclub in Sirajganj. 

Since the fall of the government, amid the victory celebrations across the country, there are also reports of violence and anarchy in different places. As the law and order situation has deteriorated, the situation is still not being brought under control.

Such incidents victimised the aforementioned theatres, each significant by their standings; as the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-Tech Park branch of Star Cineplex was the only modern theatre in Rajshahi, and Roots Cineclub was the same for Sirajganj, catering to the moviegoers with better visuals, sounds, and premium experiences.

Claiming to be Bangladesh's first 3D Cineclub with a 13.2 Dolby Atmos (AURO-3D) sound system and 8K laser projection, Roots Cineclub posted on its Facebook page on Monday that the theatre has suffered an estimated loss of Tk2 crore. 

"Sorry, we could not save our Roots Cineclub, which has been destroyed today. Overcoming this loss and start again might not be possible very soon. Thank you for sticking with us for so long," the theatre posted while mentioning the aforementioned amount of its financial losses. It also shared a detailed description on Wednesday, describing exactly what has been looted and destroyed.

Star Cineplex, on the other hand, has been vandalised by unknown attackers on 5 August, which was followed by an arson attack. 

Its media and marketing senior manager, Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, told the media that the miscreants caused a significant amount of damage to the Cineplex branch. 

Political turmoil forced the closure of all Cineplex locations for a while, so they were unable to withdraw cash as the counters were closed, but the damage was unbelievable.

Different stakeholders in the film industry have taken to their social media handles to express their frustration over the attack and vandalism in the cinema halls. 

Producer-director Anonno Mamun wrote, "This is such a big blow at a time when the films of my country started to turn around. Today, new audiences have started coming to watch movies because of Cineplex. We dream of making big-budget films. Rajshahi Hi-Tech Park was looted overnight on August 5 and got brutally vandalised."

Television director Kajal Arefin Ome posted, "There is already a crisis of cinema halls in the country; despite that, the filmmakers are trying to make good movies to provide domestic entertainment to the people, and one group is destroying the cinema halls right now. In a few days, those of us who work in the media might also get attacked."