Actor Jaya Ahsan, who is in the city to attend the fourth Bangladesh Film Festival, hoped that lawmakers would take steps to open up the film market in the two neighbouring countries so that people on both sides of the border would be able to see each other’s films.
Talking to PTI on the sidelines of the film festival here on Tuesday, she said her fans in West Bengal did not get the opportunity to see her work in Bangladesh and vice-versa.
“People of Kolkata often tell me they haven’t got the opportunity to see my important works like Guerrilla, Crisscross, Chorabali, The Beauty Circus to name a few. Similarly, I am told by my people in Dhaka they wish my important works made in West Bengal which includes Bishorjan (Immersion), Bijoya (greetings), Rajkahini (the tale of kingdom), Bini Sutoy (without strings), Kontho (voice), Ek Je Chhilo Raja (There was a king) be screened in theatres there,” she said in a brief interview between the screening of films in state-run film complex Nandan.
While there is no bar to Bangladeshi movies being released commercially, Indian films face restrictions in being screened in Bangladesh. However, few Bangladeshi movies have been released commercially in India.
Ahsan said it was very unfortunate that this yearning by common Bengali-speaking people living across the borders, has not yet been fulfilled.
“The state government along with the Bangladesh government and the decision-making bodies are making sincere efforts to realise the dreams of lakhs of film lovers of two countries. We are looking for an audience combining people from both Bengal and Bangladesh,” she said.
“Bengali films occupy the sixth spot in the world in terms of making films, as per one statistic I had come across recently. If there is a collaborative move by both sides to open the market, we can aim higher,” she said.
