Lights, camera ... silence
An eerie silence has engulfed Bangladesh Film Development Corporation's (BFDC) premises. Gone are the days of all-day shoots, dubbing work, and the gathering of enthusiastic crowds in front of the main gate. For better or for worse, the coronavirus pandemic has changed the country's premier film hub.
Back in regular times, it was normal for people to gather around BFDC's front gate, regardless of whether there's any shoot or not. Fanfare would be at fever pitch anytime a silver-screen star would drive in. The fans would often visit from afar, even from outside the city. On their lucky days, they would be allowed inside and roam among the people of their fantasies.
All of that was missing when this correspondent visited BFDC recently. Instead of the usual scenes, 50-odd workers were seen renovating the premises.
The much beloved shooting floors three and four have already been dismantled. Although the works were started long before the lockdown, the emptiness of the legendary floors hits harder with nothing else going on around.
The shooting floors are a sea of memories for BFDC long-timers. "I remember we pulled all-nighters working on 'Rajmahal' in those two shooting floors," said veteran actress Rozina. "Those places are gone now. It's saddening to hear this news."
Insider sources said a 15-storey FDC Complex will be erected in their place. The complex is set to have a theatre hall, offices of film production houses, shooting spots, cineplex, bank and insurance offices, food courts and more. The expected budget is somewhere around Tk 320 crores.
KM Ayub Ali, director of FDC's Technical and Engineering department, said, "The project was approved by the The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) back in October 3, 2018."
A sculpture of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam stood beside these floors. It was done by sculptor Shamim Shikder back in 1984. After the floors were dismantled, the statue was shifted to the frontside of shooting floor eight, where it now stands wrapped in white clothes. To add to the ignominy, fragments of the sculpture got chipped off while it was being moved.
A film director, on condition of anonymity, fumed, "We are so unaware that we couldn't even maintain proper precautions while moving the national poet's sculpture."
Beyond films, BFDC is also used for shooting television programmes. Due to the pandemic, that has been halted too.
But there's one floor where shooting is still going on -- the floor named after the late actor Jasim.
The film 'Tungipara'r Miya Bhai" is being shot here. It's produced by Shapla Media on the occasion of Mujib Barsho.
Inside the Jasim floor, a set for an old, pre-liberation era house has been constructed. "It's modeled after Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy's house," director Shamim Ahmed Rony told this correspondent. A little while later, actor Majnun Mijan walked in, dressed up as Shaheed Suhrawardy.
The office of Bangladesh Film Artistes' Association lies near Jasim floor. Although it's usually open all day, it was closed on the day of this correspondent's visit. Contacted, film actor Zayed Khan, also general secretary of the association, said, "I come to the office every day after lunch. We keep the space open only to work for the welfare of film artistes."
Bangladesh Film Directors Association's office lies a little further ahead. Film directors of all ages come here to work and spend their leisure time together. However, during the pandemic, even this bustling spot has thinned as fewer and fewer people visit nowadays.
"The pandemic has messed up everything," said Badiul Alam Khokon, general secretary of the association. "The film industry is going through hard times. We are not being able to work on anything. Yet, for some strange pull, some of us still come to FDC every day."
Comments