Film distributors and cinema owners in Bangladesh have retaliated against popular actor Shakib Khan for leading protests against the screening of Indian movies in the country at the end of January. The cinema owners are boycotting the films he appears in.
The protests had found broad support from the Bangladeshi film industry, not just from Khan. Many Bangladeshi film actors, directors and production workers had participated in the campaign against Bollywood movies, claiming that they would cause the collapse of the already-crippled local film industry. The campaign was organised at a time Indian actor Salman Khan’s movie Wanted became the first Hindi film to be released in Bangladesh in decades.
The protests were called off after the government assured industry representatives that Indian movies would no longer be imported. However, distributors and cinema owners were not pleased. They defended their decision to show Bollywood films, noting that Indian movies draw a bigger crowd and keep them in business.
The decline in Bangladesh’s homegrown film industry has led to the closure of more than a thousand cinemas in the past decade. At one point, nearly 100 movies were made each year. Now there are only 30 or 40.
Bangladesh first imposed a legal ban on Indian films after a war between India and Pakistan in 1965, when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan. The government briefly lifted the ban in 2010, caving in to demands of struggling cinemas. But officials quickly reinstated it following furious protests by local actors and directors, who claimed that the Bangladesh film industry was imperilled by the imports. To save the struggling movie industry and bring audiences back to theatres, the government lifted the ban earlier this year.
But Shakib Khan, the actor whose films were boycotted, wrote on Facebook:
Facebook user Kallol Mustafa thought that by importing Indian movies, the imperialism of Hindi language and Indian culture will be enforced:
Wahid Ibne Reza also protested the screening of Indian films:
Blogger Himu had a more logical approach to the problem – dubbing them in Bangla:
Journalist and blogger Rezaur Rahman Rizvi was in favour of not importing any foreign film, while blogger Ekush Tapader held the belief that films from all over the world should be imported:
Facebook user Pritom Ahmed mentioned that some movies made in Bangladesh are copies of Bollywood movie scripts and songs. Bangladesh actors even adopt the family name Khan as their screen name, copying a trend set by Bollywood up-and-coming actors who do so to emulate megastars like Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan:
Facebook page Dhallywood Karcha echoed Pritom's statement:
Journalist and blogger Mahbub Morshed wrote:
This article was originally published on Global voices. It was translated by Rezwan.
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The protests had found broad support from the Bangladeshi film industry, not just from Khan. Many Bangladeshi film actors, directors and production workers had participated in the campaign against Bollywood movies, claiming that they would cause the collapse of the already-crippled local film industry. The campaign was organised at a time Indian actor Salman Khan’s movie Wanted became the first Hindi film to be released in Bangladesh in decades.
The protests were called off after the government assured industry representatives that Indian movies would no longer be imported. However, distributors and cinema owners were not pleased. They defended their decision to show Bollywood films, noting that Indian movies draw a bigger crowd and keep them in business.
The decline in Bangladesh’s homegrown film industry has led to the closure of more than a thousand cinemas in the past decade. At one point, nearly 100 movies were made each year. Now there are only 30 or 40.
Bangladesh first imposed a legal ban on Indian films after a war between India and Pakistan in 1965, when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan. The government briefly lifted the ban in 2010, caving in to demands of struggling cinemas. But officials quickly reinstated it following furious protests by local actors and directors, who claimed that the Bangladesh film industry was imperilled by the imports. To save the struggling movie industry and bring audiences back to theatres, the government lifted the ban earlier this year.
But Shakib Khan, the actor whose films were boycotted, wrote on Facebook:
To destroy a country the first step you will take is to destroy its culture. By deciding to release Bollywood films in Bangladeshi theatres, a group of conspirators is planning to destroy the country.
Facebook user Kallol Mustafa thought that by importing Indian movies, the imperialism of Hindi language and Indian culture will be enforced:
I am not against importing foreign films. I would rather want Bangladeshis to be able to watch quality movies from all over the world. But here the screening of Indian movies are being promoted only for commercial reasons. So the commercial interests will only look for commercial movies to import which will make quick money. In the process the movie industry of the country will lose not being able to compete with big budget Hindi movies and the cultural imperialism will be established.
Wahid Ibne Reza also protested the screening of Indian films:
We have our local stories to tell on big screens in the theatres. Nobody should be allowed to take this away from us.
Blogger Himu had a more logical approach to the problem – dubbing them in Bangla:
The official languages of Bangladesh are Bangla and English. If any cinema owner wants to earn money with screening foreign films, they should dub the films – that should be the law. Also, this dubbing should be done inside the country – that should be added.
Journalist and blogger Rezaur Rahman Rizvi was in favour of not importing any foreign film, while blogger Ekush Tapader held the belief that films from all over the world should be imported:
When the copycat producers say that they will stop making films if films from a particular country are screened, I think that's a boon for the country. I want to watch movies from all countries, of all language.
Facebook user Pritom Ahmed mentioned that some movies made in Bangladesh are copies of Bollywood movie scripts and songs. Bangladesh actors even adopt the family name Khan as their screen name, copying a trend set by Bollywood up-and-coming actors who do so to emulate megastars like Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan:
Before banning Indian movies in this country, please stop adding “Khan” as the title of the actor mimicking Bollywood. When you are copying them from head to toe, how can you fight them?
Facebook page Dhallywood Karcha echoed Pritom's statement:
They have immense hatred of Bollywood films and protest against importing them. But why are the majority of their films copies of Indian movies? Why they did not even try to change that? Is this protest happening now because it will expose them? Or they don't want to invest the time and money into producing unique and quality movies?
Journalist and blogger Mahbub Morshed wrote:
You cannot impede the Indian entertainment imperialism by blocking TV channels and cinemas or through the poor performing Film Development Corporation. The days of protecting a bunch of idiots in the name of protecting our own market have come to an end. Lets do something new.
This article was originally published on Global voices. It was translated by Rezwan.