On festive occasions such as two Eid festivals in the country, movies were the only premium medium of mass entertainment in Bangladesh. Sadly the situation suffered a drastic change ever since Dhallyood suffered a wrong paradigm shift, courtesy of the periods of obscenity and lacking good films.

And especially when it comes to Eid, television dramas conquered more news spaces and grabbed the discussions on the entertainment sphere and media pages, than Bengali movies - at least that has been the scenario for a long time.

Thanks to the recent resurrection of Bengali movies with meaningful stories, soothing and entertaining songs and increasing fandom among urban crowds - movies are being highly discussed on Eid once again, even with lasting aftermaths till two-three months after Eid festivities.

It can be said that the Dhallywood industry is returning to a new horizon in terms of business; and after suffering the wrath of COVID-19 pandemic for two years - the industry bounced back with films like 'Poran' and 'Din - the Day' on last year's Eid-ul-Azha, followed by the massively successful 'Hawa'.

Until a few years ago, actor Shakib Khan was considered the only strong pillar in the entire industry, carrying it on his back. Although he still is, a handful of young and talented actors and vibrant filmmakers have changed the face of Dhallywood including Mezbaur Rahman Sumon, Raihan Rafi, Topu Khan and others, as a recurring topic in Dhallywood that the director is the 'Captain of the Ship'.

Shortage of talented young filmmakers has been in the industry for a long time. Along with this, audience demand for quality Bangla cinema also increased during the Eid festivals, and audiences began to support the industry once again.

What was needed next was regularity. Audience demand for quality films on this year's Ramadan Eid and the upcoming Qurbani Eid are the results of that continuation.

At this year's Eid-ul-Azha, which is happening tomorrow - a total of five movies are going to have their theatrical release on the day - 'Priyotoma', 'Surongo', 'Prohelika', 'Lal Shari' and 'Casino'.

Shakib Khan's movies are always ahead in terms of hall bookings, and this year's Eid is no exception. His captivating looks for the film 'Priyotoma' already stunned the anticipating audiences, and director Himel Ashraf told UNB that this movie is releasing in 107 halls.

Produced by Arshad Adnan, the film is a romantic action story written by late Faruk Hossain. Indian actress Edhika Pal is the lead actress in opposition of Shakib, and the film also has an ensemble cast including Kazi Hayat, Shahiduzzaman Selim, Elina Shammi, Don, Shahid Nabi and others.

Afran Nisho, widely considered as one of the biggest and finest stars in the television and OTT industry in the country, is all set to make his silver screen-debut this Eid. Directed by Raihan Rafi, his debut film 'Surongo' is going to be released on Eid and already got about 30 halls across the country which will be increased later, according to Rafi.

Actress Toma Mirza starred in 'Surongo' opposite Afran Nisho, and this movie will be released in Kolkata after Eid, the makers confirmed at a recent press conference.

Another surprise of this year's Eid movies is Mahfuz Ahmed starrer film 'Prohelika'. Mahfuz, one of the 'Golden Era' superstars of Bengali television industry who has been off the screen for a long time, is returning with the movie alongside Shabnom Bubly, and the duo has teamed up with acclaimed director Chayanika Chowdhury for this movie.

The film is produced by Jamal Hossain with the story, dialogues and screenplay by Pantha Shahriar.

Actress Apu Biswas is debuting as a producer this Eid as her government grant movie 'Lal Shari' is set to be released tomorrow.

Apart from the production, Apu Biswas is also acting as the female lead and the film is directed by Bandhan Biswas. Actor Symon Sadiq has teamed up with Apu for the first time in this film.

After the Eid-ul-Fitr, director Saikat Nasir is back with another release on this Eid as well. Popular actors Nirab Hossain and Shabnom Bubly have teamed up in this movie titled 'Casino' alongside Taskin Rahman, Doyel Mash and others.

"There has been a time when we suffered due to the shortage of quality films," said Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, Senior Manager, Media and Marketing at Star Cineplex. "Thankfully, the filmmakers are now bringing up such good stories that we have been getting great responses from our film enthusiastic audiences on festive occasions like Eid."

"Alongside the foreign films, our Bangladeshi movies are garnering massive audiences with captivating stories and presentations such as 'Poran' on last year's Eid+ul-Azha and also films like 'Hawa'. We are hoping to welcome the moviegoers for this year's Eid-ul-Adha with four films and expecting the continued support that our moviegoers are providing to the industry," Mesbah told UNB.

Irrespective of the profit and loss calculation of all these aforementioned films, the stakeholders believe that every movie will enthrall audiences on this Eid.