1950’s to present

bangladesh’s cine-history in posters

Recently we went to the Bangladesh National Film Archives and sifted  through the dust-encrusted stacks of old cinema posters in their  collection. What we found was a gold mine, albeit a disorganized and  neglected one – hundreds of posters dating from the industry’s earliest  stirrings in the 1950’s to the present day. Some are painted in garish folk  hues, others are sublime and delicate works of art. Together these  posters trace the evolution of the themes and styles of Bangladesh  cinema over the decades, covering the dominant trends of social realism,  folk fantasy, war drama, “Dhalliwood” song and dance, and independent  art cinema. From a wider socio-cultural perspective they also reflect the  changing national mood and psyche of their times.

Here we have tried to  make a representative  selection, choosing  films that were notable  for their pioneering  nature, or commercial  or critical success. 

Unfortunately, the  vagaries of time have  taken their toll, and we  were not able to trace  the posters of some  cinema milestones  (‘Mukh o Mukhosh’,  ‘Jibon Theke Neya’ and  ‘Rang Baj’) so we have  included the paper ads  instead.

Recently we went to the Bangladesh National Film Archives and sifted  through the dust-encrusted stacks of old cinema posters in their  collection. What we found was a gold mine, albeit a disorganized and  neglected one – hundreds of posters dating from the industry’s earliest  stirrings in the 1950’s to the present day. Some are painted…