Home ›› 24 Mar 2023 ›› Nation
The famous Raj Tilak cinema hall in Rajshahi city became successful by bringing audience back to the theatre following its reopening after thirteen years of closure.
The hall restarted its journey with the screening of the Bangla movie “Hawa” on March 17, amidst much excitement among the movie lovers of the city.
In the culturally rich city of Rajshahi, movie theatres were the main source of entertainment for everyone until the late nineties. However, the halls started closing one after another in the early 2000s for various reasons.
Raj Tilak Cinema Hall in Rajshahi’s Katakhali area was closed in 2012. However, authorities decided to bring back the main source of entertainment for the residents of Rajshahi by renovating and reopening the hall.
In its first week, Raj Tilak has been doing well by attracting a fair number of audiences. The locals are excited about being able to watch movies on the big screen again at affordable prices.
Sadiq-ul-Islam, a student of Rajshahi University (RU), said, “There are only a handful of entertainment options in the city. I hope they will continue to screen good movies. I am excited to enjoy the experience with my friends.”
Nupur, who came to watch the movie, said, “About 12-13 years ago, I watched the movie Monpura at Raj Tilak Hall. I was disheartened when the hall closed down. It felt good to have the experience back again.”
According to related sources, a businessman and production manager from Dhaka, Sajjad Hossain Sagar has taken the initiative to reopen the cinema hall on a five-year contract from the current owner of the cinema hall, Rumman Ali.
In this regard, Sajjad said, “Launching this cinema hall was a challenge. New documents had to be drawn up to reopen the hall. At the same time, new renovation and decoration work had to be done. After three and a half to four months of work, the hall was made suitable for use.”
He added that after 11 long years, the cinema hall has opened a new door of entertainment for the people of Rajshahi.
In response to a question, he said, the ticket price has been kept from Tk 70 to Tk 150 to make it affordable for all sorts of people. The show starts at 10:30am on Friday. And Saturday to Thursday special show screens at 12:30pm, matinee show at 3:30pm, evening show at 6:30pm and night show at 9:30pm. Stating that 510 viewers can enjoy the movie together every day, Sajjad further said that a fair attendance of viewers is being observed during every show. He expects the hall to do well from a financial prospect.
The officials of the hall claim that the hall will also show Bengali and Hindi movies of India apart from the movies made in the country approved by the Department of Films & Publications (DFP).
Nazim Uddin, a resident of Katakhali Bazar said the entertainment lovers of the area are happy to have Raj Tilak open again. He expressed their happiness after enjoying the movie together with his loved ones.
Department of Mass Communication & Journalism’s professor and founder of RU Film Society, Dr Sajjad Bakul said that they have been demanding a cinema hall for the entertainment-loving Rajshahi residents for a long time.
“A branch of Star Cineplex was launched in Rajshahi recently but the ticket prices are not affordable for everyone. The reopening of Raj Tilak will be the source of entertainment for people of all walks of life,” he said.
In response to a question, he said that many of his close friends were happy to be able to enjoy a movie on the big screen. Claiming that the environment of the hall has been made more beautiful than before, he said that if the authorities increase their publicity campaign, they will get new visitors besides increasing their business profits.
