An industry can’t be made with just us and our uncles: Farooki

Audiences have been thronging to cinema halls since the first day of Eid-ul-Azha to watch some of the films released. Multiplexes in Dhaka have increased the screening numbers for local films, cutting down on the number of shows for Hollywood flicks, due to the growing interest in Bangladeshi movies. However, many people have become fed up with attempts at 'mud-slinging' against one another over the new films released this Eid.

Now director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki has shared his thoughts on the matter.

Last night, Farooki shared a post on his personal Facebook page, writing, "This Eid, people went to the halls to watch Bangladeshi films. There was a conversation about three films. Some may like it, some may not. But the fact that people are going to the halls, this is something that should be celebrated. However, now some are trying to bring down this thing, to the point that it feels like our local politics scene. This is disapponting."

Expressing his surprise at the attempt to pull others down, instead of celebrating their success, Farooki further wrote, "Instead of celebrating our own success, we have seen a desperate attempt to pull others down! This is not an incident unique to only this Eid. Over the years, I've seen the same happening during OTT-centric campaigns. There is a concerted effort to dismiss others and prove that 'only me and my project are the best'. Similar to how our national political scene does not allow hundreds of flowers to bloom, we seem to be importing this attitude into the world of cinema and OTT."

The director then reminded everyone to come together and stand up for the industry. The filmmaker wrote, "Remember, brothers and sisters, just us and our uncles cannot make an industry together. It has to truly be done together, with all of us. You have to give others a place to make a name for themselves."

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Many people, including directors and actors, reacted to Farooki's post positively. "Shurongo" director Raihan Rafi also shared the post.