Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival screens four Bangladeshi films

Four Bangladeshi feature films were screened at the 5th Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival-2018 that drew captivating attention among the Bengali community living in the India’s Telengana state.

The 3-day festival began at Prasad Film Preview Labs, Hyderabad on Friday, in which 10 Bangla films - four from Bangladesh and six from West Bengal - were screened.

The Bangladeshi films which were screened in the festival being organised by Bengalis in Hyderabad (popularly known as BiH) since 2014 are - “Dressing Table, Aggyatonama (Unknown), Khancha (Trap) and Kaler Katha”.

Telengana State Chief Secretary SK Joshi inaugurated the festival. Bangladesh High Commissioner to New Delhi Syed Muazzem Ali attended the show as the guest of honour with Ranjon Chowdhury, President of HBFF, in the chair.

Film producers, directors, actors, distinguished guests from the film industry from both the countries, among others, joined the colourful opening ceremony. Bangladeshi film “Dressing Table” produced by Impress Telefilm was screened in the special show before the opening ceremony.

Actress Apu Biswas joined the festival from Bangladesh along with the West Bengal artistes.

SK Joshi in his opening remarks said that Bangladesh and India have close historic cultural ties. Both Bangladesh and West Bengal share close ties in socio-cultural arena as the people speak in Bangla language, he said.

He said organising such festival would help further boost ties between the two countries in future and it would help increase people-people contact.

Syed Muazzem Ali, in his deliberation, opined that the people to people contact would further enhance especially in cultural arena when such festival would be organised every year.

Recalling India’s recognition to Bangladesh as an independent state, he said organising Bangladeshi films in the month of December brings special significance for Bengali nation as India recognised Bangladesh on December 7, 1971.

He called upon the organisers to arrange such festival every year involving all stakeholders, reports BSS.

Apart from films, traditional Bengali foods and clothes were displayed at the festival for the visitors. Hyderabad is the capital of India’s Telengana state where over 750,000 Bangali people resides.