Five new Bangladeshi films are set to be released in cinemas for Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the largest religious festivals for Muslims, which will be celebrated on either Friday or Saturday depending on the sighting of the moon.
According to a member of the Bangladesh Film Certification Board, the Raihan Rafi-directed film Pressurecooker, Abu Hayat Mahmud’s Prince: Once Upon a Time in Dhaka, Mehedi Hasan Hridoy’s Rakkhosh, Redoan Rony’s Domm, and Tanim Noor’s Bonolota Express have all received certification and will be screened in cinema halls starting from Eid day.
Mia Alauddin, senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Film Exhibitors’ Association, stated on Wednesday that nearly 200 cinemas are ready for these releases, expressing hope that audiences will receive them well. ‘Many single-screen cinema hall owners wanted to reopen their halls for Eid films,’ he said, adding that five films are ready to hit theatres across the country during the festival.
Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, Media and Marketing Manager at Star Cineplex, confirmed they would be screening all five films at their various branches.
‘Bangladeshi films are now enthralling audiences, and during the festival, our branches will entertain local viewers with a sense of festivity,’ he said.
Iftekhar Uddin Nawshad, owner of the single-screen Madhumita Cinema Hall, announced they will run the Dhallywood megastar Shakib Khan’s film, Prince: Once Upon a Time in Dhaka.
‘We plan to run Prince for the first five weeks before screening the other new releases,’ he said. He added that halls often struggle to find quality films that attract audiences during regular periods, making it costly to operate only for festival seasons.
Filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer Raihan Rafi described his film Pressurecooker as a dream project that explores the dark underbelly of Dhaka—a city where many arrive with the desperate hope of striking it rich overnight. ‘A pressure cooker uses intense heat to cook food rapidly, often with a sharp, hissing sound; Dhaka itself is that pressure cooker. Many families here live under that same intense, suffocating heat,’ he said. He noted that the story features women in leading roles and attempts to weave four distinct narratives together.
