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The highest-grossing film in Bangladesh is also the 250th one starring the star child and superstar extraordinaire of Dhallywood (a colloquial term for the Dhaka-based film industry), Shakib Khan. And there is no better way to celebrate the man than by raising him on the highest pedestal yet—a crime thriller worthy of sharing the stage of glitz and glamour with their neighbours from across the Radcliff Line.

Minute-one takes us right into a heated discourse between political bigwigs arguing about winning formulas for the upcoming elections at the Grand Palace ballroom. “Wrong tactics- follow my plan!” with these wise words, mafia kingpin and aspiring minister of every ministry, Toofan (Bangladeshi Superhero/Superstar Shakib Khan in a career-defining dual role) manages to piss off the entire ballroom and then proceeds to obliterate all of them with an M134 Minigun that he conveniently lugs out of his convertible. Welcome to “Toofan...

Svf Entertainment is taking a significant leap into the Bangladeshi film market. This expansion is marked by the collaboration with Dhaka-based Alpha-i Studios and the Ott platform Chorki to produce two major Bangladeshi films, “Toofan” and “Domm”, both poised to redefine the cinematic landscape.

“Toofan”, directed by Raihan Rafi and starring Dhallywood superstar Shakib Khan, represents a ground-breaking collaboration in Bangla cinema, and is set to redefine the scale of storytelling and elevate Bengali cinema to global prominence.

The second film, “Domm”, directed by Redoan Rony and starring National Award-winning actor Chanchal Chowdhury, is based on a true story. This collaboration between Svf, Chorki, and Alpha-i aims to deliver high-quality content to a global audience.

While Svf’s recent foray into the Bangladeshi market is a focal point, the studio also briefly highlighted its initiatives in other markets, including the production of two Telugu shows for Disney+ hotstar, which is...

Auteur Mostofa Sarwar Farooki is spearheading “Ministry of Love,” a 12-film anthology by the leading lights of the Bangladesh film industry for streamer Chorki.

The broad theme of the films will be love. Farooki, a celebrated filmmaker whose work including “Television,” “Saturday Afternoon” and “No Land’s Man,” has travelled to festivals worldwide, will co-produce the project on behalf of Chorki. He will also direct two of the 12 films.

“Something Like an Autobiography,” which Variety understands is heavily inspired from Farooki and his actor wife Nusrat Imrose Tisha’s personal life, is co-written by Tisha and Farooki and is co-produced by Anna Katchko, former Film Bazaar chief Nina Lath and Tisha. Farooki will also direct a project titled “Last Defenders of Monogamy.”

Couple Raka Noshin Nower (“Laugh Lines”) and Shangkha Dasgupta (“Guti”) will direct “50/50.” Redoan Rony (“Behind the Puppy”), filmmaker and CEO of Chorki, directs “Uki.” Abu Shahed Emon (Busan...

Chorki, one of the leaders in Bangladesh’s fiercely competitive Bengali-language streaming landscape, has revealed a strong 2023 slate.

The 25-strong lineup is director-driven, helmed by 25 of the leading lights of the Bangladesh industry. Mostofa Sarwar Farooki (“No Land’s Man”), leads the slate with “Ministry of Love,” details of which are under wraps at the moment. Abdullah Mohammad Saad, whose “Rehana” was at Cannes and Busan in 2021, also has an under wraps projects in the lineup.

Abu Shahed Emon (“Jalal’s Story”) has thriller “Mercules” in the works for Chorki, where a woman must find out if the love of her life and father of her unborn child is a rapist.

In Syed Ahmed Shawki’s period drama “Bypass,” set amid the 1971 Bangladesh war of independence, two young riders set on a motorcycle journey throughout the battle-scarred countryside witnessing the conflict’s effects on common people.

Robiyul Alam Robi’s...

Abu Shahed Emon, a Bangladeshi filmmaker with close ties to Busan, is back at the festival with “No Ground Beneath the Feet,” directed by debutant Mohammad Rabby Mridha. He braved two weeks of quarantine to be in Busan in person.

The film, which premieres at the festival’s ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ strand, follows the travails of an ambulance driver in Dhaka and the struggles of his wife in a slowly shrinking river delta, while tackling universal themes of climate change, poverty and societal ills. The cast includes Mostafa Monwar, who won best performance at the 2016 Singapore International Film Festival for “Live from Dhaka”), Priyam Archi and Deepanwita Martin (“Made in Bangladesh”).

Emon has been busy during the pandemic and will continue being so in the months to come. As a producer, he has a raft of films in various stages of production via his Golpo Rajjo Films.

Drama...