Bringing ‘Pathaan’ to screen it, not keep in the fridge: Anonno Mamun

Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Pathaan" is set to hit theatres in Bangladesh from May 5. After the success of a few domestically produced films this Eid, some directors and actors have demanded for the release of "Pathaan" to be postponed.

All the while this has been happening, director Anonno Mamun, who is responsible for the import of "Pathaan", announced that the film will be released on May 5. He has also clarified that under no circumstances will he allow for the film's release to be postponed any longer.

When the initial talks of importing "Pathaan" had begun, there was a shortage of audiences in the country's theatres. However, since then, some of the films released during Eid brought an end to this drought.

Speaking to Prothom Alo on Sunday afternoon, Anonno Mamun, owner and director at Action cut Entertainment—the company that will be importing "Pathaan"—said, "The government had set a deadline for the release of 'Pathaan'. The week of Eid is now over. Now, the week after Eid is also ending. If we continue like this, how will things even progress? Isn't this our film? We have paid VAT and Tax to the government for its import. I have paid around BDT 7 lakh to the government for just this film. All of the other Eid films did not pay them VAT of BDT 7 lakh. I didn't import this film to keep it in the fridge. I bought it with the purpose of releasing it in theatres."

He continued by saying, "We have brought 'Pathaan' in accordance with all the rules set by the government. Spreading propaganda saying that the release of 'Pathaan' will or should be delayed has no point. There are government rules and we are not doing anything outside of these rules. I'm not doing anything by myself. And anyway, we will only be releasing the film in 22 halls. We won't release it in more halls than this. The remaining 150 halls in the country can run our local films, there won't be any problems. I will only release 'Pathaan' in the halls in Dhaka and outside Dhaka, where the Eid films are no longer being shown. The hall owners will also decide this, I cannot force them to run this film. We only plan on running this film in the big halls. I will leave the smaller halls of the local cinema."

Asked if small theatres are suitable for screening "Pathaan", Anonno Mamun replied, "It's not ideal, but we could still make it useful. Since there are local films playing in the smaller halls, I have decided to let them be. In its second week, we might run the film in 50 or 70 halls. This is our plan."

When asked if the film had already undergone the censor procedure, Anonno Mamun said, "The censor process has not been completed yet. We will learn today when the censor board will watch this film. However, we have already received permission from the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Censor Board."