Shawdesh Desk:

Dhallywood superstar Shakib Khan-starrer Eid film ‘Toofan’ has made a huge debut capturing the hearts of film lovers thronging cinemas to experience its adrenaline-pumping action scenes.

‘Toofan’, directed by Raihan Rafi, was released during Eid-ul-Azha alongside ‘Mayurakshi’, directed by Rashid Palash, ‘Agontuk’, directed by Sumon Dhar, ‘Dark World’, directed by Mustafizur Rahman Manik, and ‘Revenge’, directed by Md Iqbal.

According to film industry insiders, ‘Toofan’ has been running houseful, ‘Mayurakshi’ is gaining ground and the rest are struggling due to lack of time slots offered by cinemas across the country.

Star Cineplex has offered all five Eid films during Eid-ul-Azha. However, it will stop screening “Dark World” and “Revenge” from today to increase the shows of ‘Toofan’ and ‘Mayurakshi’.

Media and marketing manager of Star Cineplex Mesbah Uddin Ahmed said, ‘We are screening 51 shows of “Toofan” daily in our branches. We will stop screening “Dark World” and “Revenge” to increase the shows of “Mayurakshi” and “Toofan” from Friday.’

Blockbuster Cinemas has offered five Eid films. General manager of the multiplex Sayed Golam Mohiuddin said it was screening 11 shows of “Toofan” daily.

Lion Cinemas operation manager Asib Ur Rahman said that film lovers were showing interest in “Toofan”. The multiplex is offering four films excluding ‘Dark World’.

‘We will reduce shows of other films and increase the number of shows of “Toofan” from Friday and screen two shows of ‘Mayurakshi’.’ he said.

Shakib Khan fans went as far as vandalising Madhumita Cinema demanding tickets. Owner of Madhumita Cinema Iftekhar Uddin Nawshad said that his cinema was running four shows of ‘Toofan’ daily.

However, film lovers said parents should not bring children to cinemas to watch ‘Toofan’.

‘I think this film is unsuitable for children because it contains violence and slang words,’ said Nur Hossain, who watched ‘Toofan’ at Star Cineplex’s branch at Sony Square in Mirpur on Thursday.

‘As a regular viewer of films, I find that “Toofan” is rich in technical aspects, including production element and story element. I am waiting for the sequel to the film,’ said Ruhinu Mallik at Sony Square.

Director of Dark World Mustafizur Rahman Manik said that multiplex owners were more interested in screening ‘Toofan’ because Shakib Khan had a huge fan base in the country.

‘Star Cineplex will stop screening our film on Friday to make room for “Toofan”. This proves that multiplex owners were prioritising “Toofan” over other films. We will screen our film in single-screen cinemas in future,’ he said.