Bollywoody movies in Dhaliwood theatres

It is now court-validated and official that the Bangladeshi cinema halls can start screening Indian movies after a 40-year-old ban was lifted recently. For starters, there will be about twelve 12 movies screened per year. In all likelihood, the total number of Indian movies to be screened here will increase in future, possibly significantly. Similar increase in volume has happened in Pakistan when they started to allow Indian films during General Pervez Musharraf's regime in 2006.

The Bangladeshi ban is being lifted at a time when public sentiment against proposed Tipaimukh dam and mindless killing of Bangladeshis by the BSF is very tensed. However, not that many folks appear to be visibly bothered by this film ban removal. Protests and challenges are coming from mainly two types of groups. The first is consisting of the obvious ones, those who are already in the film "making" business (not "screening"). And then there are those who in general protest against "all-things-Indian". Somewhat absent is a solid intellectual discourse on the topic.

In this article, I will try to explore why it was so easy for some quarters to get this ban removed and what lies ahead for Bangladesh's own film industry.

Before diving into a detailed discussion, let's refresh our memory regarding the history of the ban. Indian films were barred from local cinema halls right after Bangladesh's independence in 1971. The ban was enacted in 1972 by the government of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Despite the very fresh memory of war-time Indian assistance, Bangabandhu's regime in 1972 took the nationalist stance and decided not to allow Indian films in local movie theatres. It is to be noted that during the 50's and 60's, Indian films, both Bangla and Hindi, used to be regularly screened in the "East Pakistan" — the former Bangladesh.

Contrast that history with the realities of today. The daughter of Sheikh Mujib is now at the helm of power in Bangladesh. The current government, which otherwise jumps on "anything-Bangabandhu", is now reversing course on a decision taken by the late leader's administration.

There are many things that have changed over the last 40 years which made removal of the ban a "cake-walk" for the current regime, even amid popular protests against Bangladesh's existential issues like the Tipaimukh dam. The most significant change took place in the recent 20 years starting from the l990's. This is the era when Hindi and Indian culture penetrated Bangladeshi psyche like a wildfire. The fire started with the emergence of satellite TV in the early 90's.

Availability of "dish-connections" at cheaper rates, pirated copies of Indian movies and music, and 24/7 distribution of Indian TV channels have created a Bangladeshi population many of whom does not even bother about the fact that Bangladeshi cable TV channels are denied broadcast rights in the Bangla speaking parts of India.

Besides the perverse consumer behaviour, the colossal failure of the Bangladeshi local filmmakers has also acted as a key ingredient for the easy entry of Indian movies in our local theatres. Starting from the 80's, the Bangladeshi middle-class withdrew from the locally made film scene due to its continuous decline in quality.

Lacking the middle-class in the film scene, the number of cinema halls in Bangladesh went down from a couple of thousands to just 600 as of year 2010. Many halls have converted to restaurants and shopping malls. Some others are making a living by screening "l-ticket-2-films". These are films officially known as "soft-porn"; mostly of American variety.

For the majority of the middle-class, Hindi movies and entertainment are plentiful in their cable-diet at this moment. Even toddlers now watch Hindi-dubbed cartoons of western making. Many folks do not consume anything local, and some actually do not have time for Hollywood either.

The reality is that, even if someone (read "the author") dearly wants to continue to restrict Indian films in our cinema theatres, those films will be devoured by the masses via VCD, DVD or cable channels. The status quo is strongly in favour of Indian films, doesn't matter if it is in theatres or in the home of the consumer. Unfortunately, it was simply a matter of time when we had to officially welcome Indian films in our theatres. That time has now arrived.

Having seen the obvious finally unfolding, the optimist in me started to ponder what positive our filmmakers can get out of the removal of the ban? Can our local film industry at least get something out of this otherwise negative development? The following positive scenarios came to my mind, which may benefit some segment of our filmmakers.

The Indian films may bring back the middle-class to the Bangladeshi cinema theatres. The halls may start to make money and be profitable, although at the expense of our nationalistic pride. I assume, removal of the Indian film ban also will mean opening up our theatres for Western films, so long as the government in Bangladesh wants to be seen as fair. If this is true then regular screening of foreign films, including Indian films, has the potential of raising the number and the so-called "standard" of the local movie-goers.

Once the middle-class is back and proper policies are in place, our new generation of filmmakers may get a viable audience to feed their work as either advertisements or trailers in between Hindi/foreign movies. Such trailers will introduce the masses to our local works of good quality, which are now only found in DVD's or film festivals. This eventually may help the better of the current "independent" filmmakers to get out of their "boutique" shops, and produce work for the mainstream.

The government must enact policies to materialise the above positives. Otherwise it will be known in the history as the government that hammered the final nail in the coffin of our local film industry. For starters, the government may restrict the cinema halls from showing Indian commercials, and allow only Bangladeshi commercials or movie trailers during breaks. This will be a great way to promote local content and help content producers (i.e., ad-firms, filmmakers, etc.).

I feel immensely hopeful when I see several Bangladeshi satellite TV channels profitably competing against Indian and foreign channels. The optimist in me says that some day many of our better filmmakers will be able to produce the same result while they compete in the celluloid screen.

The game is on, our independent filmmakers! Are you ready for the next stage?

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Shafquat Rabbee is an independent contributor who writes from New York, USA.