Bangladesh information minister Hasanul Hoque Inu has stressed on “cooperation and mutual market access” to develop the Bengali film industry.
“If the two Bengals join hands , then we have much to gain,” Inu told the “Ananda Bazar Patrika” in an interview published on Saturday.
Inu is in Kolkata when the city is hosting a two-day festival of Bangladesh films drawing huge crowds. Bangladesh is also the theme country at the ongoing Kolkata Book Fair and a special seminar has been organised there by the newly formed ‘Friends of Bangladesh” for Saturday .
Inu said in the interview that his government has decided on principle to allow screening of Indian films in cinema halls of Bangladesh.
“In the age of Internet , it is inconceiveable to imagine you can prevent films from a neighbouring country to be shown in Bangladesh,” Inu is quoted in the interview as saying.
Bangladesh’s military rulers had banned the screening of Indian films in the country to protect the domestic film industry.
Only films emerging out of ‘joint productions’ could be screened.
Inu said that India also should open the doors for films made in Bangladesh which would surely have a good market with the Bengalis in India.
Veteran Tollywood hero Prasenjit Chatterji welcomed Inu’s announcement.
Kolkata’s film industry is based in Tollygunge – hence Tollywood as Bollywood for the Bombay film industry.
“More than the Hindi film industry, this will boost the Bengali film industry if we have markets across the borders. Good films are made in Bangladesh and they will have a market here while our films will have a market there,” Prasenjit said.
Film maker Gautam Ghosh who has done films like ‘Padma Nadir Majhi’ is enthusiastic.
“If the huge Bengali market turns into an integrated one, it will boost the Bangla film industry on either side of the border,” Ghosh said.bdnews24.com
