Bringing together the vastly different tales of two women in the colorfully chaotic Dhaka city, Rubaiyat Hossain’s latest film Under Construction will be released on January 22, across four different cinemas in Dhaka. The theaters include Star Cineplex, Blockbuster Cinemas, Shyamoli and Balaka Cinema Hall.
As the curtain opener for the 14th Dhaka International Film Festival, the film will be screened at the National Museum Auditorium on January 14 at 4pm. As part of the same festival’s female filmmakers’ section, it will be screened again at the Public Library Auditorium on January 18 at 5:30pm.
The film features the stories of two women in context of their lives in Dhaka city. It juxtaposes the stories of Roya, a girl from a middle-class background in a quest to discover herself, with the stories of Moyna, a garments worker in Dhaka. Given the class disparity in a booming city like Dhaka, where some of the most elite live alongside some of the most impoverished population of Bangladesh, the film brings to focus the conflicts and commonalities of women’s struggle – no matter what background – in a city like Dhaka.
The cast includes Shahan Goswami, Rikita Shimu, Mita Rahman, Rahul Bose, Shahadat Hossain Toufiqul Islam, Sohel Mondol Shobuj, Nawshaba Ahmed Sabah and Sporshita.
“Our whole lives are basically under construction, as we are living,” Mita Rahman said during a press conference held at The Westin on Sunday. That is one of the overarching themes of the film, she added.
Rubaiyat Hossain, writer, director and producer of the film, said she is working on the film to be screened outside Dhaka as well. This is her second film.
The film has won the Golden Durian Award in the category of best film at the Salamindanaw Asian Film Festival in the Philippines.
The film had a world premiere screening last June in Seattle International Film Festival, following which it was screened at various international film festivals including Montreal World Film Festival and Calgary International Film Festival in Canada, Sao Paolo International Film Festival in Brazil, Bogota Film Festival in Colombia, Stockholm Film Festival in Sweden, Phnom Penh Film Festival in Cambodia and many more. This month, the film will be further screened at different film festivals across India.
