Entertainment Desk: Since 1976, government grants have been given every year for film production to develop talent and creativity in the film industry. For the past 16 years, many questions and controversies have arisen over the granting of this grant. Allegedly, producers who have no shortage of money get grants to make movies. Also, many do not have management experience.
Questions also arose as to why and in what manner they were nominated for the grant. A film is required to be submitted to the Ministry of Information within 9 months of receiving the grant check. If someone is late in this case, they can extend the period if they show reasonable cause. But there are plenty of examples of people who have received grants but not been able to finish the film.
Basically, this government grant is supposed to be given on the selected screenplay of the movie. The one whose screenplay or story is good will get the grant.
In that case, the producer-director is not an issue. Many director-producers have passed away due to collusion with a class official of the ministry. Due to which the manufacturers do not have to bear any kind of accountability.
A case has also been filed in the name of several manufacturers on this charge. Bangladesh has drawn the attention of the government many times, seeking an end to the irregularities and opacity of grants. In the beginning, classic films like ‘Surya Dighal Bari’ and ‘Emil’s Detective Squad’ were made with government grants.
Bintu Film Grants have not kept pace with this trend of artistic films over the years, and the grant process has become controversial and questionable. The quality and quality of the film have also been questioned. Several film critics and writers have tried to draw the government’s attention to the matter. But the Ministry of Information was not seen to take any effective action.
Film experts say that no one, including the government, knows who sees government-sponsored films, where they are shown, when the production is finished, or whether they are finished at all. The information ministry only knows about the grant money, a syndicate that has given grants to films. Government-funded full-length documentary films are neglected today.
The former Parliament of Bangladesh Cinema and Television (BCTI) held meetings and agitations on this controversial issue of grants. According to them, grants are an important factor in the development of the film industry. But in an actual sense, this grant has been used in favor of some private interests in different ways. Nepotism and partisanship have been promoted instead of films. Subsidized films should receive grants. Their movement continues to demand transparency of the grant committee.
Films under grant for FY 2023 include ‘Aad-Bhoot’ in Shishutosh, Nomads of the North. ‘Journey of Time’, ‘Mihin Gatha’, ‘Thikana’, ‘Suraiya’, ‘Jaya’, ‘Lov’, ‘Jat’, ‘Seyana’, ‘Ha Gharre’, ‘Unparajit 71’, ‘Jaldaasi’ and some more movies.
Now the question among movie lovers is: What will happen to the movies that got this grant? Will there be a proper account of the money spent on the movies? Will the movies be released or stuck? Many people are writing about these issues on social media.
