Eid Ul Azha 2022 saw the release of three Bangladeshi films- Ananta Jalil’s “Din: The Day,” Raihan Rafi’s “Poran,” and Anonno Mamun’s “Psycho.” Despite having a stellar cast (Pujja Cherry, Shahiduzzaman Selim, Rosey Siddiqui etc), “Psycho” didn’t fare well in the box office. As for “Din: The Day,” people regretted that it wasn’t as comical as AJ’s previous “films.” Mejbaur Rahman Sumon’s “Hawa” entered the scene almost three weeks after Eid. Some people at the cineplexes were torn between watching “Hawa” or “Poran,” Chris Hemsworth’s chiseled body in “Thor” and Brad Pitt’s swag in “Bullet Train” escaping their notice entirely.
This may very well mark the beginning of a new era where the story, not the celebrities, is the star of the film. It was more about what, rather than who, they were there to watch. People had to wait for hours to get tickets for either of these films because of the houseful situation at the cineplexes that seat much fewer audiences than larger local halls (Usually a film doesn’t have houseful shows this late into its release, but “Poran” did). I went to one such local hall, Sainik Club in the capital, to watch “Poran” on its fourth week and to Bashundhara City to watch “Hawa” on its debut week. The first had about 15 people in the theatre with no wait time, the latter kept me waiting for four hours in the afternoon on a weekday.
Both films are massive box office successes catering to audiences of conflicting tastes. “Poran” is on firmer grounds in this regard because its target audiences were oblivious to the glaring misogyny and overall unfortunate craftsmanship of the film. When I interviewed the audiences after the film ended, they all had good things to say including “making bhalo chhilo” (which was impossible to determine with the faulty projection on the “ghola” screen), “just wow,” and “meyeta bodmaish” (that just might be what the film had set out to prove in the first place. The men are killing each other, but please go ahead and blame the girl for dating two guys at once because that is worse than murder apparently).
Sadly, for “Hawa,” its audiences-cum-critics are the film buffs, people who spend a considerable portion of their lives watching/analyzing world films. This crowd is nearly impossible to please. So, while the mass is praising the politically incorrect “Poran,” the educated crowd is split in half about “Hawa.” All the festivals and film appreciation courses in world couldn’t prepare us for acknowledging an artistic film’s mainstream success.
“Hawa”’s audiences are like its two promotional songs. There’s the mass (Shada Shada Kala Kala) and there’s the contemplative connoisseurs (E Hawa). Whether we give it credit for setting a higher bar for local films, anyone can commend its effective marketing. Some may say it’s a tad too aggressive, especially when it is not a plot-heavy film, the kind the mass audience have grown accustomed to.
In the film, a snake charmer (Nazifa Tushi) is caught on the fish net of Chan Majhi’s (Chanchal Chowdhury) boat. The seamen lust over her as they meet their untimely demise one by one under mysterious circumstances. That’s about the extent of “kahini” in this film.
I can’t responsibly point out how “Hawa” could be a bigger hit, without mentioning what scares me about “Poran” being such a massive blockbuster. The fact that its misogynistic sentiments are lost on our people is worrying. If it wasn’t loosely based on a true story, I would conclude the writers never met a female specimen of their species in the entirety of their lives, prompting them to conjure up such characters.
Roman (Sariful Razz) is the go to “mastan” of a corrupt politician. His relationship with struggling college student Ananya (Bidya Sinha Mim) escalates from eve teasing to sexual abuse to a loving couple without a logical progression. One minute he attempts to break her jaw on a secluded street, the next he is her boyfriend (insert surprised GIF). Those of us who forgot to check our brains at the door will suffer throughout the 2hour 19mins, for the film is riddled with such contradictions. Ananya turns out to be a bully herself, using her brute of a boyfriend to threaten classmates and teachers to help her cheat on exams. He even helps her get close to her other love interest, Sifat (Yash Rohan), under the impression that Ananya needs the reluctant nerd to tutor her. Ananya, while still in a relationship with Roman, pressures Sifat to marry her. Although the two have zero chemistry, he caves (insert said GIF again). I can go on all day pointing out what’s wrong with this film, but if you get it, you get it already.
However the films may be, “Hawa” and “Poran” pulled audiences into theatres, the way Marvel movies used to before they lost their sheen. If the Netflix top 10 movie list is any indication, then it’s safe to comment we have a preference towards films closer to our culture. Yet every Bangladeshi film last year suffered in the box office competing with Hollywood films. “Shimu” was released at the same time as “Batman.” “Lal Moroger Jhuti,” “Nona Joler Kabbo,” “Chandraboti Kotha”- all shared the same fate. What brought the audiences in large flocks this time around? The entertainment factor. It’s like the crowd had been singing the chorus of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” all along, but we were busy collecting accolades, riding our high horses, reaching a grandiose technical finesse for our ever so “ghola” screens.
Sadia Khalid Reeti is a film critic/screenwriter and is the Showtime Editor of Dhaka Tribune
