Dhaka cinema scare

Fear that Bollywood would threaten Bangladeshi films

By Moazzem Hossain in Dhaka

Security in cinemas across Bangladesh has been stepped up after a bomb blast at a theatre.

Two people were injured in the explosion which came ahead of an international film festival.

Police have described it as an act of sabotage.

The explosion took place a day before the screening of Indian films at a cinema hall in Narayanganj, an industrial town near the capital Dhaka.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the week-long festival where 54 films from 13 different countries are to be screened in cinemas across the country.

But a section of Bangladeshi film producers and distributors have opposed the screening of Indian commercial films at the festival.

They feel that Bangladeshi films would face uneven competition if films from the Indian industry - Bollywood - were screened during the festival.

It is not clear if there is any link between the bomb blast and the opposition to Indian films.

Bollywood films are very popular in Bangladesh but up till now the authorities have not allowed them to be screened commercially.