Roshan-Bubly lack ‘market appeal’, I will recast my next film: Iqbal

On the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, Mohammad Iqbal's film "Revenge" hit 15 theatres with Ziaul Roshan and Shobnom Bubly in the lead roles. Despite the initial buzz, the film has struggled to attract audiences in both single-screen theatres and multiplexes. In a disappointing turn of events, "Revenge" was pulled from Star Cineplex just five days after its release due to poor performance.

Before the film's release, Roshan and Bubly were actively promoting "Revenge" at press conferences. However, their presence has been notably absent in theatres post-release. Meanwhile, director Mohammad Iqbal has been making solo rounds to various cinema halls, clearly disheartened by the film's reception. He has openly expressed his dissatisfaction with the duo's lack of support during the promotion.

In response to this situation, Iqbal has made a decisive move by announcing that Roshan and Bubli will be dropped from his next film, titled "Betray", which is currently in production.

Mohammad Iqbal announced, "I have decided to drop both Roshan and Bubly from the film "Betray". Moving forward, I want to collaborate with new actors and actresses. I no longer wish to work with them, as they currently lack market appeal."

Iqbal expressed his dissatisfaction, stating, "It is true that I am not satisfied with their role in promoting the movie "Revenge". However, do they bear no responsibility themselves? The people of Bangladesh recognise their heroes and heroines. How many of them know the directors and producers? The actors must promote their movies. My responsibility is to produce and release a complete film, which I fulfilled. Promotion is also their responsibility. Should it fall solely on me? While Bubly refused to promote her own cinema because her husband's film was released, Roshan does not properly promote any movie."

The shooting of "Betray" began with a song in February 2022, following the completion of "Revenge". According to the producer, 40 percent of the scenes have already been filmed, with Roshan and Bubly participating only for five days. Changing the lead actors at this stage could potentially lead to loss, but the producer sees it differently. Iqbal stated, "There was no damage; in fact, I survived. Discarding their footage may result in a loss of four to five lakh taka, but I will compensate for it in other ways. I don't want to risk losing everything by continuing to feature them in the movie."

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When contacted regarding their exclusion from the movie "Betray", Roshan and Bubly did not respond. A brief message was sent to them, but no reply was received.

Despite being dropped from "Betray", several movies of this duo are awaiting release. The list includes "Prem Purana", "Pulsiraat" and "Tumi jekhane Ami shekhane".