Newsman, Dhaka

Brahmanbaria was once known for its music, literature, and cinema. Today, it is increasingly known for something else. The district that gave Bangladesh Ustad Allauddin Khan and some of its most celebrated cultural figures no longer has a single cinema hall. In recent years, it has appeared in national and international headlines for attacks on minorities, assaults on cultural institutions, and the growing influence of hard-liner religious actors.

Against that backdrop, filmmaker Tanim Noor found himself at the center of a new controversy after opposition from Qawmi student groups and local religious leaders disrupted a planned screening of his film Bonolota Express in Brahmanbaria. What began as a modest effort to revive film culture quickly evolved into a debate about art, censorship, public space, and the limits of cultural freedom in contemporary Bangladesh.

Speaking by phone on May 31, Tanim Noor reflected on extremism, poverty, political polarization, artistic freedom, and the growing pressures facing artists in Bangladesh. He also explained why he believes cinema remains one of the few spaces where people can confront hatred rather than surrender to it.

Sharif Khiam: Have you ever lived in Brahmanbaria?

Tanim Noor: No, I haven’t lived in Brahmanbaria. I was born in Dhaka and have never actually lived there, but my parents did.

Sharif Khiam:  Although your roots are in Brahmanbaria, the region has changed significantly. Over the last decade, I’ve covered several incidents of communal extremism there for international media, such as the attacks in Nasirnagar. It is striking to see the pressure on the Hindu and Ahmadiyya communities. Brahmanbaria was once known for its cultural icons, but now it frequently makes headlines for these negative incidents. How do you personally analyze the attacks on your film, and how does this portray Bangladesh on the global stage?

Tanim Noor: Extremist and radical forces unfortunately tarnish our country’s image in various ways. In my view, the solution lies in dialogue, discussion, and reforms in the education system. You cannot change people by force or by imposing things on them. Poverty is a major issue in Bangladesh; in areas like Brahmanbaria or Ashuganj, employment is scarce. I believe that those who are marginalized might react with hostility out of a lack of understanding, but we must not respond in kind. We must strive to bring them back from extremism through engagement. There should be mutual respect for beliefs in society. I don’t force anyone to watch my films; those who appreciate the art will watch. But when a group prevents others from watching, it becomes undemocratic and autocratic.

The struggle over Bonolota Express may have begun in Brahmanbaria. The questions it raises reach far beyond it. They concern the kind of society Bangladesh wants to become, and whether art will still have a place within it. The controversy emerged at a time when Brahmanbaria no longer has a functioning cinema hall. For more than a year, the student-led Brahmanbaria Film Society had been organizing regular screenings to revive a fading film culture in the district.

Sharif Khiam: The attacks on your film feel like a personal assault on our artistic identity. We have seen a pattern of such attacks by extremist groups, from the Udichi bombings to the Ramna Batamul incident.

Tanim Noor: These extremist groups often refuse to listen and seek to impose their will on everyone else. They have even resorted to armed violence and bombings.

Sharif Khiam:  During the 2002 cinema hall bombings in Mymensingh, there were about 1,500 cinema halls in the country, but today, a district like Brahmanbaria has none. Given this reality, how will the international community perceive Bangladesh?

Tanim Noor: It creates a negative perception, painting the country as a ‘hardline’ or extremist nation. However, we must remember that a few loud voices do not represent the entire country. Poverty is the primary cause of this backwardness. We must fight both poverty and the lack of education. I am less worried about our image abroad and more concerned about the actual condition of our people. It is the responsibility of both the state and society to uplift people from this state of regression.

What began as a disagreement over a film soon evolved into an organized campaign. On May 29, local Qawmi and Hefazat-linked leaders gathered at a meeting in Brahmanbaria to publicly oppose the screening, framing it as a moral and cultural issue rather than a cinematic one. The dispute unfolded against a broader backdrop of pressure on cultural institutions in Brahmanbaria. In recent months, activists have protested alleged attempts to seize land belonging to Allauddin Khan Sangeet Angan, a symbol of the district’s artistic heritage that was previously affected by the Qawmi violence.

Sharif Khiam: What is your take on the ‘culture of hatred’ prevalent in our politics?

Tanim Noor: That is the core issue. We are ‘cultivating hatred’ within our society. People dislike others they have never met, solely because of differing political beliefs. This intense polarization is a plague across the subcontinent: India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. We are all human beings first, yet we resort to vile abuse over political differences. My work is a stand against this. Through projects like Bonolota Express, I aim to show how people can overcome hatred and coexist. Our country is small and overpopulated; we have no choice but to stay united.

Some of the online reactions to Bonolota Express have been particularly striking. Several commentators argued that the film had already softened parts of Humayun Ahmed’s original novel in an apparent attempt to avoid controversy. Poet and singer Akil Ashraf noted that a religious cleric in the novel was transformed into a more generic conservative character in the film, writing: “That helped avoid hurting anyone and kept the main plot intact. But what was the point?” Others made a similar argument. One social media commentator observed that despite altering the character and avoiding direct religious imagery, the film still faced organized opposition in Brahmanbaria.

Sharif Khiam: Some netizens have criticized your adaptation of the novel, suggesting you practiced ‘self-censorship’ out of fear. How do you respond to that?

Tanim Noor: I believe in artistic freedom. As a filmmaker, I have the right to adapt a story as I see fit. People are free to call me ‘afraid,’ but I view any attempt to dictate my creative choices as an interference with my freedom. Furthermore, I consciously avoided ‘stereotyping’ characters. In our society, nearly 99 percent of people hold some conservative values, regardless of their background. Unlike Bollywood, which often uses specific attire or tropes to label religious characters, I tried to break those stereotypes and portray characters more realistically.

Sharif Khiam: Thank you, Tanim bhai, for your time.

Tanim Noor: Thank you.

The controversy surrounding Bonolota Express is ultimately about more than a film. It is about the future of public culture in Bangladesh. It is about whether artists, students, and ordinary citizens can continue to create shared spaces without fear of organized intimidation. In a district where cinema halls have disappeared, cultural institutions have come under attack, and even a film screening can trigger a political confrontation, that message carries particular weight.