On March 17, "Dostojee" ("Two Friends"), directed by Prasun Chatterjee, a Bengali festival favorite and box office hit, was released in the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, and New Zealand.
The U.S. cinema rights had been purchased by California-based Bioskope Films LLC, which distributed the movie in 75 cities across 26 states. The theatrical run qualified the Bengali-language film "Dostojee" for the 96th Academy Awards, which will be held in 2024. The movie debuted in New York City.
Additionally, "Dostojee" had a theatrical release in 15 Canadian cities, 10 Australian and New Zealand cities, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. The distribution in the United Arab Emirates was handled by Phars Film Co Motion Pictures, and Australia and New Zealand by Bongoz Films.
The movie recounts the friendship of two eight-year-old boys during the period of 1992–1993 when Hindu–Muslim tensions in India rose with the destruction of the Babri Masjid and the Bombay bombings and permeated down to a distant village on the India–Bangladesh border. Best friends Palash (Asik Shaikh), a Hindu Brahmin, and Safikul (Arif Shaikh), a Muslim weaver, are separated by fate.
The movie had its world premiere at the 2021 BFI London Film Festival. It then screened at 32 film festivals in 26 different countries, garnering eight international awards. In November 2022, the movie was theatrically released in India, where it enjoyed a 12-week run at the box office. As part of the "Film Bazaar Goes to Cannes" project, it had already taken part in the Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum and the Indian lab Film Bazaar before attending the Cannes Film Market.
Channel 4 purchased the broadcasting and streaming rights for the UK and Ireland in January.
The critically acclaimed South Asian movies "Doob: No Bed of Roses" by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki and "Rickshaw Girl" by Amitabh Reza Chowdhury were previously released in the United States by Bioskope.
“In the history of Bengali cinema, this is the first time ever a Bengali film' teaser/trailer is playing on the Billboards of Times Square, New York City, with the big budget Hollywood movies,” the director told Dhaka Tribune Showtime.
