Bangladesh celebrates centenary of Indian films

“Jodha Akbar” cover page.

DHAKA – Bangladesh is celebrating the 100 years anniversary of Indian Films with a view to consolidating the bond of friendship between the two neighbouring countries.

Indian cinema turns 100 on 21 April 2013. On 3 May, 1913, the legendary Dada Saheb Phalke, the father of Indian Cinema, released his feature film “Raja Harishchandra,” a story about a king who never lied, at a Mumbai cinema hall marking the beginning of Indian movie.

Marking the centenary of Indian film, Bangladesh Film Development Corporation and the High Commission of India jointly have been organising the festival in Bangladesh capital, Dhaka.

The 8-day festival is being supported by the Ministry for Cultural Affairs of Bangladesh and the Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information of the Government of India.

The festival was formally inaugurated on September by Bangladesh Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad at Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in Dhaka.

Putting emphasis on India-Bangladesh joint efforts for the development of Bangla films, Abul Kalam Azad said “I personally believe that the viewers will start approaching cinema hall again to enjoy Bangla films if Indian producers come forward to make films under joint venture initiative,” he said.

“We, both the countries, jointly celebrated Nobel Laureate Poet Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary so was celebrated the 90th anniversary of Rebel Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam’s ground-breaking poetry ‘Bidrohi’.

These programmes surely helped us make a strong tie between the two countries. The door of cultural exchange between Bangladesh and India has been opened up and it will remain wide open , added Abul Kalam Azad in his speech.

Stressing the need to strengthen India-Bangladesh ties, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pankaj Saran said, “Cinema is an important media which can transcend the borders. Indian cinema has now come a long way and Bangladesh also boasts of rich cultural legacy.”

The inaugural function was also addressed, among others, by Cultural Affairs Secretary Suraiya Begum, Indian popular actor Faruque Sheikh, Film Director Mojaffar Ali and Director of Indian Film Festival Committee Razib Kumar Jen.

Faruque Sheikh said although Bangladesh has been credited to produce a number of good films and also having talented directors, it could not spread Bangla films across the world.

In this connection, he suggested screening of world famous films in the country along with taking steps to organize Bangladeshi film festival across the world to spread the essence of Bangla films worldwide.

Indian Film Director Mojaffar Ali extended his support to Bangladesh for the development of Bangladeshi films considering cultural similarities between the two friendly countries.

According to the organizer, the Soumitra Retrospective will include the actor’s famous collaborations with Satyajit Ray’s such as ‘Apur Sansar,’ ‘Ashani Sanket,’ ‘Ghare Baire,’ ‘Hirak Rajar Desh,’ and ‘Sonar Kella’.

Popular films like ‘Umrao Jaan’ , ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, ‘Aguner Parashmoni’, and Giasuddin Selim’s ‘Monpura’ from Bangladesh, are the other attractions of the festival.

The first Assamese film ‘Joymoti’ of Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Agarwala, is also screened in Dhaka during the India-Bangladesh joint celebration of 100 years of Indian Cinema. Joymoti was a historical figure, an Ahom princess in the 17th century, who embraced death to save husband Gadapani from the anger of the serving king. The complete version of the film no longer exists. микрозайм на карту сбербанка