Raihan Rafi's sports and liberation war film, "Damal", was released yesterday. Following in the wake of his last movie, "Poran", the director's new film is already making waves amongst the audiences and critics, who are showering the film with love and appreciation on social media. 

Now, renowned director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki has posted a status on his social media, praising Raihan Rafi for "Damal".

"The day I watched his debut short film, I realised the potential of this young man—who came from a Madrasa background. The elite class of our society doesn't really talk about him, because he doesn't come from a similar background and because he cannot speak English properly," reads the opening of the status.

"When I watched his short-film, I felt he understood the audio-visual language of cinema. Maybe, he is not perfect yet, but nobody is. We are all learning from the day we are born to the day that we die," Farooki continued writing.

In the eyes of many, Farooki is an independent filmmaker. However, he considers himself a mainstream director. Reminiscing his journey, he wrote, "When we started making films, we wanted to make art films that will reach to the mainstream audience. Our films 'Third Person Singular Number' and "Television" reached mass audiences. I am hopeful that "Shonibar Bikel" will do the same. I think art and mainstream films go hand-in-hand in this industry."

Farooki considers Rafi a smart mainstream filmmaker. He wrote that "Damal" is one of the examples of smart mainstream films in the industry.

"The structure of this film is not linear or easy. This film doesn't deal with any concept that is absolutely original. If you have to sell such a film to a mass audience, then the scripting, filming, editing, and music of the film has to be done skillfully. Raihan Rafi and his team managed to do this successfully," he wrote.

"Damal" is running at five branches of Star Cineplex in Dhaka. The movie stars Siam Ahmed, Bidya Sinha Saha Mim, Rashed Mamun Apu, Sariful Razz, Shahnaz Sumi, and Sumit, among others.