Bangladesh Film Fest: ‘Hawa’ lead actor basks in positive response by Kolkata audience

Kolkata, Oct 30: Chanchal Chowdhury, the lead actor of ‘Hawa’ (Wind), is soaking in overwhelming audience response to the movie in the ongoing Bangladesh Film Festival here, but he regrets that it could not be commercially released in Kolkata.
‘Hawa’, directed by Mejbaur Rahman Sumon, tells the story of a group of fishermen in the mid seas, who found a beautiful young woman in their net.
The film, shown free of cost, had a full house during its two screenings at Nandan, a state government-owned cinema, on the inaugural day of the 4th Bangladesh Film Festival on Saturday. The queue of people stretched over half a kilometre while a section of the audience watched the movie sitting on the floor of the auditorium.
Following the positive public response, the number of screenings of the movie was raised from four to five in the festival. “Our greatest reward is to get the love of the Kolkata audience. Feeling so happy that Hawa was watched by the film-loving people on this part of the border as well. This success reaffirms that there is no division among Bengali audiences,” Chowdhury told PTI on the sidelines of the inaugural function on Saturday night.
However, he regretted that the film could not be commercially released in Kolkata theatres.
“Apart from Dhaka, Hawa was screened in many other places. But it did not happen in West Bengal. I understand there are certain complications which prevented its release,” said Chowdhury who got two Bangladesh National Film Awards for Best Actor.
He has earned plaudits for his portrayals in ‘Rupkothar Golpo’ (Tale of Fantasy), ‘Monpura’, ‘Television’ and ‘Debi’ (Goddess). “I am always in favour of the screening of any good work on both sides of the border. We have to retain the heritage of making good Bengali films,” the ‘Hawa’ actor said.
The film will be screened again on Monday and November 2, a Bangladesh Deputy High Commission official said.
“We are delighted with the way the people of West Bengal have received the film. This shows a good film does not know any geographical barrier,” the official said. (PTI)