Photo: Mumit M.

Giasuddin Selim became a much-discussed director for his drama serial "Biprotip". His feature film "Monpura" reached a new peak of popularity and earned him the National Film Award in 2009. He has already embarked on his second film "Kajol Rekha". The helmer visited The Daily Star (TDS) recently to discuss the problems and prospects of Bangladeshi film industry. What follows is an excerpt from the conversation. TDS: Why did you shift from making TV serials to film? Selim: It wasn't a sudden move. I dreamt about filmmaking ever since I started my career in TV. I also harboured a dream to become a theatre director. I was born and raised in Feni. I was involved with theatre there. When I was a student at Rajshahi University, I was very active in theatre and had plans to be in that field. But then I got married and in order to make a living, I started to work in TV and decided to pursue it as a career. But the urge to make films was always inside. TDS: Why do you think the popularity of Bangladeshi films is on the wane? Selim: Mainstream films are being made for a specific coterie of viewers. It's like the producers and the directors have decided that they'll target their films to reach the viewers of so-and-so class. But that is not without reasons. There are virtually no cinema halls for the middle or upper middle class moviegoers. Filmmakers can't do business with only three movie theatres (i.e. Star Cineplex, Madhumita and Balaka) that maintain a certain standard. The rest are clearly different. Judged in terms of sound and environment, Star Cineplex is probably the best. That is, you can go there with your family and kids. TDS: What's the reason behind the decrease in the number of cinema halls? Selim: The nouveau rich often gets confused over where to spend their money. Sometimes they fancy filmmaking, because they've got to do something with their newfound wealth. Sometimes, a Mr. Newly-rich can ask his wife for a story and get an assistant director to make a film. We are moving into that direction of utter mindlessness. I think these are the reasons why the numbers of movie theatres are decreasing. TDS: How long did "Monpura" run at Dhaka movie theatres? Selim: Nine months in a row. TDS: Was it also screened abroad? Selim: Yes, in nine countries. It was commercially released. The audience mostly consisted of expatriate Bengali (including Indian Bengalis) communities. TDS: How far have you got with your new venture "Kajol Rekha"? Selim: As the director, I'm ready. So is the script. I finally spotted someone who is fit to play Kajol Rekha. It's a period film: we're going back 300-400 years. We'll need a lot of money. Hence, the producer is not ready. If I'm going to make a Tk two crore film, finding an investor won't be that difficult. But if I want Tk four crore for a film, it'll be hard to get a producer. TDS: People used to go to movie theatres with their families before. They still do if there is a good film, right? Selim: Exactly. People went to cinema halls to watch good films. When some small town hall owner decides to run "Monpura", he gives his house a major facelift first and then comes to take the reels. If only three to five movies become hits in a year, a lot of things get transformed. Say, 50-100 films are released every year. Balaka [a hall in Dhaka] ran "Monpura" for six months, during which they've made enough surplus to buy flats in London. But then again a whole year may pass without one single hit. And that makes it hard for the hall owners to do business profitably. TDS: Who is Kajol Rekha, a Bangladeshi? Selim: Yes, totally Bangladeshi. But the trouble is, we had to cast somebody who's suitable to enact the roles of an early teen and a 22- year-old. After two years of searching for the actor, I got tired. Then one day Kajol Rekha appeared out of nowhere. TDS: Where do you plan to shoot? Selim: At different places. The story dates back 400 years. We don't have any images or documents that old. We know very little about society and architecture of that time. The research- based works are scarce. Talking about our architecture, I think it hasn't developed in its own way. People of other cultures have been invading or migrating to this part of the world since 1000 BC. Arabs, Mughals and then the English came here and created a sort of fusion of different architectural styles, making our culture lose its architectural integrity. TDS: Has there been a remake of "Monpura" in Kolkata? Selim: Yes. The remake is called "Achin Pakhi". They asked me to direct, but I declined. Offers were made to Chanchal and Mili as well but they also declined. It wasn't a big success. TDS: Films or TV plays based on rural life probably enjoy a larger audience here. What is your view? Selim: In Dhaka, many who started an urban life at Dhanmondi, have migrated to Europe or America. The same goes for Banani and Gulshan. The third generation of most of these families lives in New York, Paris, London and so on. So there has been migration in full swing. Dhanmondi, for example, is now populated by people from the villages. Since they own garment factories in Dhaka, they've bought flats in Dhanmondi. They still feel a strong attachment to their origin. Look at the number of people who go to villages during Eid. This is probably the reason why films or plays based on rural areas become popular here. TDS: What are your thoughts on vulgarity in films? What steps should be taken? Selim: The rate of vulgarity in films has significantly decreased. I think the huge success of "Monpura", has induced some five-six young directors to make films. Animesh Aich, Redwan Rony, Raj, Samir, Farooki and even Amitabh Reza are making films. I think there's hardly a director who doesn't want to try filmmaking. They'll bring about a positive change for sure. TDS: "Monpura" was a commercially successful film. How do you explain that? Selim: Not only that. It has also made a major contribution in changing the taste. Since we had a lot of shots near water we had opportunities to soak the heroine. But we abstained from that. When I went to FDC before the shooting began, people said: "You must have lost your mind. Why else would you want to make a mainstream film starring Chanchal and Mili? They are TV actors. Who'll watch your film?" But I believed that the people of our country love good stories. If you are a good storyteller, people are sure to get attracted. My next film is a myth. My grandmother used to narrate this to me, now I'll narrate it. Hollywood and Bollywood blockbusters are nothing but effective tales. TDS: What steps do you think we can take to improve our film industry? Selim: Build 64 quality cinema halls in 64 districts, and it'll shift the paradigm. If we can have even 4/5 blockbusters every year, 10,000 people whose livelihood depend on this industry would be benefited. TDS: Soundtracks often get released prior to the release of the films. Why? Selim: It's assumed that if the songs become popular, the film will be a sure success. It's a new trend. TDS: There are talks about bringing Indian films to Bangladeshi theatres. What do you think of this? Selim: I don't see any harm in that. People might get me wrong. But we need competition. Before our independence, Hindi, Urdu, English and Bengali films were shown in the movie theatres. And that was the golden age of Bengali films. Out of five hundred or more only four-five Bollywood films become hits each year, not more than that. So I don't see any reason behind all the fuss over this. TDS: What's the biggest problem of the film industry here? Selim: Piracy. It's time we did something serious about it. If there weren't so much piracy, I'd have already got a producer who'd willingly invest Tk 4-5 crore for a film. It's totally possible to make profits after investing that much money in our existing market. The market is huge in Dhaka and its surrounding areas. But we'll have to stop piracy first. We need to use our potential to its fullest and bring back the golden days of cinema for our people.