Nowadays, whoever invests money ends up as director: Dipjol

Monowar Hossain Dipjol. Photo: Saqlain Rizve

Even if you've never seen a Bangladeshi commercial movie, you know who Dipjol is. By now, Monowar Hossain Dipjol is a cultural phenomenon in the country. Over multiple decades and through many characters, both good and bad, he has become an integral part of our lives. 

Best known for his villainous roles, Dipjol has also portrayed multiple roles as a protagonist of the story, especially in his more recent movies, before going into hibernation. He returned to screens on the ninth of this month through a new release 'Jemon Jamai Temon Bou'. 

It was produced from his production house and the story is Dipjol's own idea. He also plays the central role in the movie. In a recent interview with The Business Standard, this actor-turned-producer talked about his latest movie and shared some of his thoughts on the film industry.

"I am releasing a movie after many years which is why I am feeling joyous about it. The movie will try to portray what happens if there is a quarrel in a family, especially between the husband and wife. The goal is to tell the viewers how they can avoid such destructive altercations and maintain a healthy family life," Dipjol said.

With Eid fast approaching, Dipjol's latest release will be competing with a flurry of new Eid releases. Dipjol is not too excited about it.

"It's not okay to release more than three movies on Eid. Everyone should be patient, I think. And everyone should also be thinking about the return on their investment. One new film should be released every week for a whole year," he said.

Dipjol feels the lack of industry experience among the new crop of moviemakers is contributing to this situation.  

"Nowadays, whoever invests in movies ends up turning into the director himself. That is exactly why such movies fail commercially," he said. 

Dipjol also hit the headlines recently for his vehement opposition to the reintroduction of Bollywood movies in Bangladeshi theatres. 

"Why will Hindi movies come to our country? Our mother tongue is Bangla and many wars have been fought over Bangladesh and our language," Dipjol said sternly.

Another pet peeve of Dipjol is the state of BFDC (Bangladesh Film Development Corporation).
"The doors of BFDC will be closed soon for good. They can't even pay salaries these days," he said. 

And yet, BFDC has more expensive cameras and equipment than the ones available outside. 

"The place should be run by film industry people. If one person has been put in charge for too long, things are bound to go wrong."