Starting the new year with old movies
January 3 was the first Friday of the year and yet no new film was released.
Though the new decade is up and running very quickly, most of the cinema halls throughout the country, however, are still screening old movies.
As per norms, new films were supposed to be released on Friday every week. January 3 was the first Friday of the year and yet no new film was released.
On the last Friday of 2019, "Maya-The Lost Mother" and "Kathbirali" were released. "Maya-The Lost Mother" was screened at seven halls, however, the film could not last one week. On the other hand, "Kathbirali" was only displayed in one hall outside Dhaka. "Kathbirali" will officially be released on January 17.
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Under the circumstances, the theater owners are at risk of losing money. To avoid that, they are screening old movies. The Business Standard spoke to the authorities of a few cinema halls of the capital. The manager of Balaka Cine World, S M Shahin said they are screening "Kantho" which was imported from Kolkata.
"Kantho" starring Jaya Ahsan of Bangladesh was released in Kolkata on May 10 last year and was released in Bangladesh on November 8. In regards to running old movies, Shahin said, "What will we do? There are no new movies, we are bound to run old movies. However, this movie is not a hit, we had to close shows due to lack of viewers."
Watch the trailer of "Kantho" here
The same is the case for Sena Cinema Hall in the capital. It is screening "Bhalobasha Express" starring Shakib Khan and Apu Bishash. The movie was directed by Shafi Uddin Shafi and was released in May, 2014.
Shyamoli Cineplex is screening "No Dorai" at the moment. Hall manager, Ahsanullah Hasan said, "This is the second time we are running this film. There is an average number of viewers. As there are no new films yet, we have to run old movies to keep the theater running.
Meanwhile, Modhumoti cinema hall in Dhaka is screening Shakib Khan's "100% Love". Hall manager Md Shahab Uddin said, "Last week, we displayed Shakib Khan's 'Captain Khan'. If we do not get new movies, we have to run old movies to keep the hall alive. It is not like the hall is full of viewers, we are sustaining somehow."
At Bashundhara Star Cineplex, "'Maya-The Lost Mother" and "No Dorai" are being screened. Star Cineplex's production "No Dorai" has been up on the screens for the past seven weeks. Star Cineplex's Senior Manager of the Media and Marketing department, Mesbah Uddin Ahmed said, "Both the Bengali movies have done good business. Viewers are still watching 'No Dorai', however, we did not get as many viewers we expected for 'Maya-The lost mother'."
In regards to the current scenario, President of the Producers Association said, "We could not release any new movies on the first day of the year - this is a very disappointing news for us. However, we will work on releasing good movies this year. "
