 The cinema halls
are fast losing the audience. Critics blame a myriad factors for this downfall in
viewership: satellite televisions, VCRs and vcds, a poor quality of films and, last but
not the least, the pathetic condition of the cinema halls. As a result, a number of halls
all across the country have been forced to close down. The hall owners say, of the 800
cinema halls of the country, 300 have been shut down due to these reasons. While visiting
various cinema halls of the city including Balaka, Binaka, Purnima, Ananda, Rajmoni,
Beauty, Sony, etc., the authorities told this correspondent, while even a decade ago these
halls were full of spectators, now the case is quite different. In some areas there have
been reports of hijacking and pickpocket in front of the halls. The presence of thugs and
the ticket black marketers also discourage many potential viewers.The situation outside
the capital is worse. At Manikganj at the outskirts of the city there used to be three
cinema halls: two of them have already been closed down, and the other is finding it
increasingly difficult to survive. The owner of Nobin cinema hall said, "Whereas just
five years ago about 500 to 600 viewers came to the halls everyday, but now the number has
dwindled down to less than 50.--Reported by Shafiqur Rahman Khan |
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history and background of Bangla Cinema