No Joy in “Ananda”

I had been curious about Ananda Cinema Hall ever since I started working at the Daily Star. Admittedly, it is one of the oldest and most well known halls in Dhaka; but its reputation is widespread for all the wrong reasons. 

When I arrived at the premises I noticed that they were screening "Sultana Bibiana", a film starring Bappy Chowdhury and Aanchal. The ticket counter was closed, and instead there was an elderly person selling the tickets near the entrance. To my surprise, the tickets were dirt cheap at 70 taka only. The show was scheduled to start at 12:30 pm, and there were no signs of any audience half an hour prior to that time which was unnatural as "Sultana Bibiana" is a newly released film. My despair escalated when I entered the building, the dimly lit corridor reeked of neglect.

As showtime approached, people started coming in. There were a few couples; and I had an unpleasant flashback stemming from last week's experience in Balaka Cinema. The canteen was okay-ish, you could generally find anything you normally would in a local confectionary. The clock finally struck 12:30pm, and the attendant opened the gate to the hall. The rancid outburst of hot air from the hall notified me of the impending doom. As I entered the hall, I realized that Balaka Cinema last week was royal compared to this one, at best. As I took my seat in the back row, I noticed that it was sticky and smelled of a month-old dried sweat. I tried moving after the ticket checker left, but to no avail; there was simply no place I could shift where the pungent smell did not exist. I tried to ignore the discomfort and watch the film.

As the film started, I noticed that the screen was fair-sized, but with the choppiest resolution possible. The one thing that is worse than watching Bappy act is watching Bappy act in muffled, 480p-like resolution. That being said, "Sultana Bibiana" had quite an original plot which I will not spoil for you here. Unfortunately, the film ended up being a cookie-cutter Bangla film which had the potential to be a lot better. As I had feared, my trip to Ananda Cinema Hall had no joy. There won't be unless they bring in some serious investment for renovation.  

Sadi Mohammad Shahnewaz is an aspiring musician who cries himself to sleep after reviewing bad films. Send in your suggestions regarding what he should cover at [email protected]