Shakib Khan's ‘Prince’ finally opens at Star Cineplex after Eid release debacle
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Bangladesh’s largest multiplex chain Star Cineplex is now screening Shakib Khan “Prince: Once Upon a Time in Dhaka”, after an initially botched release.
Star Cineplex authorities on Tuesday revealed the development on social media, requesting fans to book their tickets.
Directed by Abu Hayat Mahmud, the movie also stars Tasnia Farin and Kolkata actor Jyotirmoyee Kundu, telling a story set in the Dhaka underworld of the 1990s.
The Eid-ul-Fitr release of the movie was overshadowed by chaos across cinemas nationwide, with cancelled shows, angry crowds and vandalism reported from multiple districts.
Viewers who arrived to watch the much-anticipated film on Eid day were left furious when screenings failed to play the film.
Several hall owners told bdnews24.com at the time that copies of the film were delivered late on Thursday night through a new server system, although the standard practice is to provide them at least a day earlier.
Most cinema operators were unfamiliar with the new technology, which meant they could not start the servers, load the content or complete preparations in time.
Even in halls where the film was available, technical problems emerged, including licence complications and sound failures.
Awlad Hossain Ujjal, general secretary of the Film Exhibitors’ Association, said hall owners were also forced to refund ticket money in many locations.
Star Cineplex also failed to receive the film’s Digital Cinema Projection (DCP) file at the time.
“We still haven’t received the file of Prince. No shows could be run, so we had to screen other films instead. It’s very unfortunate,” Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, AGM of Media and Marketing at Star Cineplex, had said.
The theatre chain was then forced to screen another film in place of the highly-anticipated feature.