‘Poran’ producer on century: We are caught up in Bangladeshi ‘system’

Popular filmmaker Raihan Rafi’s blockbuster flick ‘Poran’ has just made history by reportedly raising Tk 12 crores in ticket sales through a straight 100-day-long theatrical run, according to recent media reports. The film’s producer Md Tamjid Atul told The Business Post that the reported numbers are rough estimations and he is yet to receive his share of the profit.

‘Poran’ completed its century on Wednesday (Oct 19) and the film is still running successfully in 11 theatres in the country, including all the multiplexes.

The film’s distributors and producers also set a rare example in the Bangladeshi film industry by releasing their estimated box office collections.

Bangladeshi theatres and film distributors did not release box office records until ‘Poran,’ so it was very difficult to accurately measure a film’s success. Most film producers previously claimed that their film was a “superhit” without any data backing their statements.

According to reports, a rough estimate of the 100-day earnings of ‘Poran’ has been collected. Avi Kathachitra, the distribution company behind the film, is yet to secure the accurate data of one hundred days.

The company stated that ‘Poran’ has earned a massive BDT 12 crore from ticket sales alone.

Yet, the film’s producer made an approximate profit of only Tk 3 crore. Bangladeshi filmmakers Khijir Hayat Khan and Razibul Hossain took to Facebook and heavily criticised this visibly massive disparity between cineplexes’ ticket sales and producer’s profit.

This sparked another heated debate among Bangladeshi netizens. They kept asking who made the most profit during the historical commercial success of ‘Poran.’

Md Tamjid Atul, producer of ‘Poran,’ told The Business Post that these numbers are rough estimates and some data are still left to be calculated. Tamjid said, “There are some mistakes in the recent reporting. ‘Poran’ is a Tk 83 lakh content. We can calculate the final profit after getting detailed data from all of the sources. And I have not received the said three crore taka from the distributors yet. That is just a rough estimation.”

When asked about the disproportionate numbers between ticket sales and the producer’s profit, Tamjid replied, “No, we have no local regulations regarding this. This has been the system in Bangladesh for a long time now. This system was never changed. And we are caught up in that system.”

“This won’t change overnight. There are a lot of stakeholders in this long-established system. It involves the government, theatre owners, theatre owners’ associations, film distributors, film producers, our producers’ association, the content creators and so on.

“If we can all come together and move forward to create a clear guideline for the betterment of our film industry, only then we can follow that path and rise up as an industry,” he added.

Star Cineplex, the country’s first and largest multiplex chain, was able to earn a massive amount of profit through ticket revenues of ‘Poran’.

All five outlets of Star Cineplex Dhaka have sold about BDT 7 crores and 22 lakhs worth of tickets till October 10. Jamuna Blockbuster Cinemas also sold tickets worth around Tk 2 crore till September 30.

Keraniganj-based multiplex Lion Cinemas has earned almost BDT50 lakhs from ticket sales. ‘Poran’ has also been running for 86 days at Purobi Cinema Hall in Mymensingh, even with a break of two weeks. A total of BDT 14 lakh tickets were sold in that hall till October 14.

Apart from this, more than BDT 3 crores came from various single-screen theatres in Dhaka and outside. About 3 crores came to the producer from the total amount of ticket sales after sharing with the hall owner excluding VAT and tax.

At the time of the release of the film, it was known from the producer sources that the film ‘Poran’ had a budget of BDT 87 lakhs taka including publicity costs.

Some shows of ‘Poran’ are still going houseful in weekend shows in the multiplexes around the country. The film is still being screened in a few single-screen theatres outside Dhaka. The film’s distributors hope that the gross ticket sales might even cross BDT 15 crores at Bangladeshi theatres.

‘Poran’ is still going strong and might even compete with Raihan Rafi’s upcoming hyped Liberation War-based football drama ‘Damal,’ which is set to hit the theatres on October 28.

Raihan Rafi’s romantic tragedy film ‘Poran’ was released on July 10. The film was also released in the US, Canada, and Paris. The film stars Sariful Razz, Bidya Sinha Mim, and Yash Rohan in lead roles.