When cinema theatres in Bangladesh are shutting down one after another, an independent film-maker has recently built a 4K cineplex named CineScope inside Narayanganj’s Ali Ahmed Chunka Nagar Library and Auditorium premises. The small theatre was self financed, and created by architect and independent film-maker Mohammad Nuruzzaman.
The 35 seat mini cineplex will be jointly managed by Narayanganj City Corporation, and the film-maker’s production company CineMaker.
Nuruzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune Showtime: “The air conditioned cineplex has a 4K silver screen equipped with Dolby 7.1 surround sound system. It can also project 3D cinemas. We will officially launch it in August, right after Eid-ul-Azha, with a film festival.”
“These sort of mini theatres are quite popular around the globe nowadays. So, I kind of took the financial risk, and went with it. I am quite hopeful about it. Let’s see how this goes,” he added.
The cineplex is situated in the ground floor of Ali Ahmed Chunka Nagar Library and Auditorium building. After its opening, CineScope will hold four shows each day: 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm. Once each week a special show for children will also take place. Another show each week will be allotted for world movie classics.
CineScope will also provide membership facilities. Lifetime members can buy tickets at a much cheaper rate. They will also get priority access, for issue or theme related film festivals, which will be a regular attraction at CineScope.
Nuruzzaman is an architect by profession who graduated from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). When asked why he took such a risky endeavour when most of the cinema hall owners in this country are shutting their theatres down, he replied: “I am also an independent film-maker who wants to make a certain kind of films. And a lot of independent film-makers in the country dreams the same. Yet most of them do not take the risk to produce such films because they don’t have any arrangement to distribute their films to the local audience.
“Hall owners do not want to exhibit films which are not conforming to a certain pattern. So, if these film-makers can’t even make the money they invested for the film, they do not take the risk to produce it. Thus the dreams for that film dies along the way.
“I invested in this theatre because even if a few more people like me step ahead, and builds a few more mini theatres like these, than a lot of these problems will be solved in the near future,” added Nuruzzaman.
