From crowds to cobwebs: Dewanganj’s Bhai Bhai Cinema teeters on the edge of closure

Every time Eid rolls around, there's one particular topic that seems to pop up more and more in recent years — the state of our cinema halls. Just a decade ago, there were over a thousand of them running across the country. Now? On a regular day, you'd be lucky to count even a hundred still in operation.

During Eid, the number does manage to double, but barely. But here's the real mystery: those old, sleepy halls in the smaller towns, the ones that stay shut the whole year except during Eid — how are they even surviving? What keeps their owners holding on?

That question recently took me to a little place called Dewanganj in Jamalpur district. Right there, in the heart of the upazila, stands a stubborn survivor — the 'Bhai Bhai' cinema hall. I went down to the spot to talk to locals, filmgoers, and the hall's owner to find out what's really going on.

It was a rainy afternoon on 19 May when I arrived at Beltoli Bazar, right in the middle of Dewanganj. Along the main road, on a modest 13-decimal plot of land, stands the Bhai Bhai cinema — an ageing relic from October 1998. 

Once a buzzing spot, its worn-down facade tells a different story now. Even after midday, the ticket counter was still shut tight, and the main entrance was locked. 

The front section of the cinema — that space where moviegoers usually wait around before and after grabbing their tickets — was completely deserted. Moss had started creeping across the concrete, a clear sign that hardly a soul had walked through in weeks, maybe even a month.

On either side of the hall, the old poster boards still clung to a bit of life. They featured a faded movie poster for the film 'Lipstick', which was released in 2024. 

Photo: Onim Talukder

After asking around, someone finally mentioned that it had closed its doors two weeks after Eid-ul-Fitr earlier this year.

No wonder the place felt like a ghost town.

Just as I was about to give up and leave, a local resident named Badol Mia strolled over. He lived right next to the theatre and had been part of this neighbourhood for years. Once he showed up, the story of Bhai Bhai cinema began to unfold. 

"I've kept the theatre open out of love. If producers don't release films that audiences actually want to see, there's nothing I can do from my end. I wish I could run four shows a day all year round — but outside of Eid, it's hard to draw crowds. And with no real capital, I can't afford to fix the place up either."

Badol Mia, Owner, Bhai Bhai Cinema

Badol Mia wasn't even fifty yet, but you could see in his eyes that the love for cinema burned deep. Rewinding back to 1998, he was just a college student with a massive obsession with films. 

That love eventually turned into something bigger. Using a piece of land he inherited from his family — and some savings of his own — he brought his dream to life by building the Bhai Bhai cinema hall.

For the first ten years, the theatre thrived. Business was good, people came in droves, and the screens lit up with life. But the last decade has seen a slow decline as audience numbers dwindled. Now, it mostly stands as a shell of its former self.

Back in the day, movie lovers in small towns didn't care what film was playing — if it was on the big screen, they were there. But around 2015, that started to change.

Curious about why people weren't turning up for every movie anymore, I chatted with a few local film enthusiasts in Dewanganj to get their take. 

Rupom Poddar, a small business owner in the local market, shrugged and said, "With YouTube, we can watch everything at home now. We don't get excited about every film like before."

It wasn't just about convenience, though. Cultural shifts were at play, too. 

Professor Sanowar Hossain, a local cultural activist, pointed out, "Most people, especially women, have an inclination towards Hindi and West Bengal serial dramas. A huge portion of our audience only cares about Shakib Khan's films, but his movies don't release all the time. That's why people don't come to the hall regularly."

Then there's the issue of comfort—or the lack of it. Regular viewer Shamim Mia sighed, "Except for winter, sitting inside the hall is just unbearable. It gets really hot. Sometimes, going to the movies feels more like suffering than entertainment."

Badol Mia, the hall's owner, listens to all of this without argument. He gets it — the world has changed, and so have audiences. But his reason for keeping the hall alive is personal. 

He says softly, "I've kept the theatre open out of love. Everything the viewers say is true. But if producers don't release films that audiences actually want to see, there's nothing I can do from my end. I wish I could run four shows a day all year round — but outside of Eid, it's hard to get hold of the kind of movies that draw crowds."

"And with no real capital, I can't afford to fix the place up either. Shutting the hall and starting something new? That's not really an option for me either."

"Still, I love Bangali cinema. That's why I've held onto this place. Every month, I pour in money from other income sources of mine just to keep it running."

He paused for a moment, eyes tired but still holding on to a flicker of hope.

"How long I'll be able to keep doing that, I honestly don't know."

Digging around a bit more, we found out that Bhai Bhai wasn't the first cinema hall in this area to face the axe. There used to be another theatre called 'Ontorol' — once a known name around here. But a few years back, it crumbled under the same pressure and permanently shut its doors. 

As for Bhai Bhai, even when the screens go dark, the bills don't stop coming. Between electricity, maintenance, and paying the staff, the monthly cost of keeping the place standing runs close to Tk50,000. That's a heavy load, especially for a business that's barely breathing.

The hall still employs six people — a loyal crew who keep things running when the projectors flicker to life, mostly during Eid. During the first week of Eid, ticket sales can hit around Tk100,000 per day, which sounds impressive — but only at first glance. By the second week, that number drops drastically.

The setup is simple. The hall's seats are divided into two categories: the DC section on the upper floor and the Rear Stall on the ground. Tickets cost Tk160 for the DC seats, and Tk150 for downstairs.

Even when the hall is open, owner Badol Mia admits the attendance is only decent during the evening and night shows.

Many locals believe that it's only a matter of time before a commercial building takes the hall's place.

"This is prime commercial land," one shopkeeper said, shaking his head. "Sooner or later, something big is bound to come up here."

And so, Bhai Bhai stands not just as a building, but as a symbol of every small-town cinema hall in the country that's slowly being pushed to the edge.

Without proper support or investment, places like this will vanish, one by one. And with them, a piece of the film industry's beating heart may disappear too.