Assignment On
Development of Bangladeshi Film Industry
Submitted to:
MD. Touhidur Rahman (Tuhin)
Lecturer
Submitted by:
The Last In Line (Group-5)
Members:
Name ID
Khondker Fahad Naser M21431111162
Jinat Jahan Tisha F21431111189
Sunny M21431111158
Sajid M21431111191
Piyas M21431111165
Topu Rayhan M21431111163
B.B.A. 35th Section: D
UTTARA UNIVERSITY
Date of Submission : 07 December 2014
Summary
Bangladesh Film Development Corporation promotes the local film industry in producing quality
films. It has studios, camera, dubbing, recording, processing and printing facilities for production
of films. In the present time Bangladesh Film Industry has some lacking on their development.
Todays present world is developing day by day. So we should also develop our film industry of
Bangladesh. On this project here are describes about the Bangladesh Film Development
Corporation and how to develop this industry, what kinds of changes should be done in the film
industry, the present situation of Bangladesh film industry, Who can play role to develop film
industry, the limitation and the solution of lacking of Bangladesh film corporation. The film
industry in Bangladesh has come to its present moribund state. Whether there will be any light at
the end of tunnel depends on how resolutely our new leaders can deal with the issues. To make a
digital Bangladesh, cinema, the most modern of all art forms, needs to be digitized first, both in
its hard and software technology, but more importantly, in mindsets.
How to Develop Bangladesh Film Industry`
`
Bangladesh Film Development Corporation or BFDC (more familiar as FDC) works for the
development of our film industry by providing sufficient support in the entire process of making
a film. Since the very day of its existence, FDC runs its operations under the supervision of the
government of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh. However, the film industry of Bangladesh, as a
whole and every locally produced film, in general, are indebted to Bangladesh Film
Development Corporation for its unforgettable contribution behind all we have achieved so far.
But there are some problems of BFDC which create obstacles in the occurrence of Film industry
and ultimately it have a bad effect on our Film industry. Basically, it is a public sector and there
are various problems which unable to gain more success in this sector.
Before further discussion about developing the film industry of Bangladesh we should know the
film making history of this country.
Bengali cinema refers to the filmmaking industries in the Bengal region of South Asia. There are
two major film-making hubs in the region: one in Kolkata, West Bengal, India (Indian cinema)
and the other in Dhaka, Bangladesh (Bangladeshi cinema).
The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890, when the first "bioscopes" were shown
in theatres in Kolkata. On April 24, 1898, the Bengali weekly Dhaka Prakash reported that films
were shown in Dhaka by the Bradford Bioscope Company, at the Crown Theatre, in Patuatuli,
near Sadarghat. The show included news items and other short features. Within a decade, the
first seed of the industry was sown by Hiralal Sen, considered a stalwart of Victorian era cinema
when he set up the Royal Bioscope Company, producing scenes from the stage productions of a
number of popular shows at the Star Theatre, Minerva Theatre, and Classic Theatre. Following a
long gap after Sen's works, Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (Known as D.G) established Indo British
Film Co, the first Bengali owned Production Company, in 1918. The first permanent cinema in
Dhaka, named Picture House, began operation during 19131914. This cinema was renamed
to New Picture House and then again to Shabistan. However, the first Bengali Feature film,
Billwamangal, was produced in 1919, under the banner of Madan Theatre. Bilat Ferat was the
IBFC's first production in 1921. The Madan Theatre production of Jamai Shashthi (1931), under
Amar Chauduri's direction was the first Bengali talkie a long history has been traversed since
then, with stalwarts such as Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak and others having
earned international acclaim and securing their place in the movie history.
On the other side of the border, Mukh O Mukhosh was released on 3 August 1956, written and
directed by Abdul Jabbar Khan, based on his drama scrip Dacoit, produced by Nuruz Zaman and
Shahidul Alam, distributed by Iqbal Films and acted by Inam Ahmed and Zahrat Azra.
Some changes to be done to develop the film industry
Cinema should not be under the aegis of the Ministry of Information any more. With such
prioritized and politically sensitive sectors like newspaper and television being under it,
the Information Ministry is one of the busiest and most stressed out ministry for any
government in Bangladesh. In this ministry, cinema, not having any urgent political
priority, receives inadequate care. Performance says it all. For example, the national film
awards are supposed to be an annual affair. But to perform this simple duty, the
Information Ministry once lagged even five years behind schedule! Even with the best of
intentions by the officials concerned, the endemic negligence to cinema is caused due to
the amount of workload that the Information Ministry is burdened with.
There should be a separate ministry for cinema. If not, cinema should be under the aegis
of the Ministry of Culture. There are a couple of reasons why. Firstly, cinema is an art
form, a cultural expression, not an information tool. Secondly, in the Ministry of Culture,
with its lesser and insipid workload, a glamorized medium like cinema is sure to receive
prioritized treatment.
The government should rather invest resources to establish a proper film institute and a
professional film archive in the country. Cinema is a high-tech art form, and to teach
cinematography, sound recording and related technologies to the young, there is no alternative to
a professionally run film institute. To preserve and sustain our heritage, it is imperative also to
build a modern film archive with its own building, professional dehumidified vaults and trained
personnel. Proper resources should also be allotted to give the film archive a digitalized form.
The government should also establish a national film centre in Dhaka similar to Nandan in
Kolkata.
Cinema is in a pathetic state now. Out of eleven hundred functioning cine-halls, more than three
hundred and fifty have been closed down. More are on the way to being shut down soon. Cinema
halls, to some extent, should blame themselves for their own decline. With their penchant to
exhibit vulgar films or porno cut pieces, they successfully managed to hoot out well-meaning
audiences from their premises, especially women. And now, rows of empty seats, they are facing
their nemesis! With other entertainment mediums becoming available to people the large cinema
halls seem no longer economically viable. May be the Cineplex kind of film conglomerates, with
small auditoriums to cater to different kinds of audiences, will become the future. But that is for
Dhaka and other cities only. To reinvigorate cine-audience in the districts and upozilas, the
government can establish or renovate mini-auditoriums with digital facilities.
The ideal situation is not to have any censor at all in the realm of art. But given the socio-cultural
reality of Bangladesh, if we have to concede to any censor, then the censor board should not
have any right to ban or excise a piece of cinema. It should only rate films in different categories
like, "U" (Universal), "PG" (Parental Guidance) or "A" (Adult), a rating system which most
democratic countries practice. Now with our national identity cards in place, there should not be
any problem for cine-hall gatekeepers to know who is a minor and who is not. Regarding
nomenclature, instead of Film Censor Board, the rating body should be renamed as "Film
Classification Board".
Who can play role to develop film industry
To develop our film industry various group of people can play vital role.
Government:-
Government can play the main role to develop this industry. If government
wants to get high revenue from this industry like India then several monetary or non-monetary
policies can be taken which will ultimately develop this industry.
Monetary policies -
- A circular by Bangladesh Bank over all commercial banks to finance
film makers at a lower interest rate.
- Subsidy by government to provide high technology supported
instruments at a lower cost.
Non-monetary policies -
- Encourage big industrialists to invest in this industry.
- Make a investigation team to follow up the film maker to ensure the
standard of their film.
Industrialists:-
There are many big industrialists in our country that can have a role to
develop this industry by making big investment to make world class movie. Already some of
them have started this journey. We can take Ananta Jalil as an example. With the help of his
investment already the standard of our film goes up. Followed by him many other existing
investors also start making big budget film which is ultimately develop our film industry.
Actor/Actress:-
The actor or actress can have a big role to develop this industry. If good
actor or actress make a condition that they will not signed for a film until ensuring the standard
of the film then the film maker will bound to make standard film.
Audience:-
Audience is the heart of the film. Without acceptance of audience no film
can get success. If the audience does not accept bellow standard film then each and every film
maker will try to make standard film which will ultimately push our film industry to reach a
standard level.
The limitation and the solution
Some major Problems of Bangladeshi film industry
False impression:
False impression is a major problem of Bangla
cinema. There are many teenagers who think that Bangla cinema does not
have any good quality watch. They have developed these types of thoughts but
listening to their surroundings. It is high time for them to verify whether their
thought is right or wrong by watching movies.
High price of tickets:
Usually the price of a movie ticket in a average hall is
like 50 to 60 tk. But sometime this price rises by 100 or more, which occurs
for the unconscious authority. Beside these tickets are sold mostly in black
markets. So usually people who cant afford the ticket dont bother to go to the
cinema hall.
Availability of Hindi & English Movies:
This is the era of internet. So people can
download movies which are available in internet. Although Bangladeshi
movies are not pirated to a great extend, cooperated to Hindi or English
movies, people download whatever they get and remain satisfied with them.
Especially the young generation is highly dependent on these movies. So they
dont go to cinema hall to watch bangle movies.
Lac of advertisement:
Common story based movie:
The number one problem is the false impression towards Bangla cinema. There
are many young teenagers who think that Bangla cinema is not a cinema to watch. They think
that there is no such hero, heroine, villain, story, makings etc. But, they keep these thoughts in
their mind without watching Bangla cinemas. They have developed this thought by listening to
their surroundings. They believe what they hear. So, its high time they go to the cinema halls
and verify whether their thoughts are right or wrong
Hall problems
Bangladeshi cinema halls have tons of problems. The environment of most of the
halls is not up to the mark. The chairs are broken or absent; the lights, fans do not work; the
toilets are full of foul smell, lack of security of the women, presence of gamblers and lack of
cinema halls are important among these. These problems must be solved in quick time.
Otherwise, there is no benefit making top class movies in Bangladesh.
Copying from foreign stories
Now a days the directors are copying the story line of a movie from the other
movies. They just remake those films or just dubbed that story and make a new film. This is not
expectable for viewers. Thats why dont except those movie which is really a very bad
limitation for Bangladeshi film industry.
The above mentioned limitation can be solved easily. And its our own duty. If we make people
believe that Bangladeshi movies are good enough to watch in cinema halls, today or tomorrow
they will change their attitude. We have to change the impression of the people towards Bangla
Cinema.
The authority should be strict in case of selling tickets. The price should be lowered by at least
20 BDT. So, more people will come, which will result as more benefit for them.
Hindi & English movie channels should be banned in Bangladesh. Its for our own sake. Now,
near about 30 Bangladeshi channels are present, which telecast quality programs. So, it will be a
revolutionary change for Bangla Cinema.
The hall owners should fix the hall problems for their own sake. A good quality hall can draw
more people than a dirty one. So, it should be done on priority basis.
New and talented people should come in this field. New producers, directors, actors, actress and
other people related to making cinema are needed. Students should study in film making and
help this poor country in this field at least.
If all these are done, it will be a matter of time, when Bangladeshi movies will earn more money
than the nearby countries.
