Bangladesh cinemas ban top actor over Hindi film protests

DHAKA: Bangladesh cinemas will boycott movies starring the nation’s top actor after he led protests against the first screening of a Hindi film in decades in the Muslim-majority nation, an official said Thursday.

Bollywood blockbuster “Wanted” opened in cinemas on the weekend after Bangladesh’s censor board cleared its nationwide release, following a 50-year ban on Hindi-language films.

But the screenings sparked protests outside cinemas along with wildcat strikes by hundreds of Dhaka actors, directors and others, who said the release would cripple the local film industry, known as Dhallywood.

Bangladesh heartthrob Shakib Khan led the marches on cinemas, where protesters ripped up Hindi film posters and pleaded with fans queueing at ticket booths to boycott the film.

“We’ll stop Hindi films at any cost,” Khan was quoted as saying by a local daily newspaper Thursday.

Bangladesh cinema owners reacted sharply, saying they would show not any movies starring Khan and the other protesters and defending their decision to screen highly-popular flicks from neighboring India on financial grounds.

“We’ve released Hindi films because we’re now facing an existential crisis,” said Saiful Islam Chowdhury, president of the Bangladesh Motion Pictures Exhibitors Association.