Aynabaji (Bengali: আয়নাবাজি pronounced [äɪ̯naːbäd͡ʒi]) is a 2016 Bangladeshi crime thriller film directed by Amitabh Reza Chowdhury and produced by Gousul Alam under the banner of Content Matters Production. The film stars Chanchal Chowdhury, Masuma Rahman Nabila and Partha Barua in lead roles. It is the director Amitabh Reza's first feature film. It was released on 30 September 2016. It is considered a milestone of Bangladeshi films in recent times. It was remade into the Telugu language film Gayatri.
Aynabaji | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
আয়নাবাজি | |
Directed by | Amitabh Reza Chowdhury |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | Gousul Alam |
Produced by | Gousul Alam |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Rashed Zaman |
Edited by | Iqbal Ahsanul Kabir |
Music by | Indradip Dasgupta |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Half Stop Down |
Release date |
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Running time | 146 minutes |
Country | Bangladesh |
Language | Bengali |
Budget | ৳1.7 crore (equivalent to ৳2.2 crore or US$240,000 in 2021)[1] |
Box office | ৳5.13 crore (equivalent to ৳6.7 crore or US$720,000 in 2021)[2] |
The story is about Ayna, a struggling actor who gets to live his profession in real life after failing in his career. Gifted with the natural talents of acting, he is a man with a versatile character and can morph into anybody he wants. For this, he faces different circumstances in his life and thus the story evolves. It is also a story about the dark side of metro city Dhaka, depicting the constant combat between the ruling class and mass people living the city.
Arifin Shuvoo,[4] and Bijori Barkatullah makes guest appearances as AC Sajjad and Saber's separated wife respectively. Producer Gousul Alam and director Amitabh Reza Chowdhury have special appearances.
Gousul Alam Shaon had written the story for the film, while Anam Biswas adapted into a screenplay. Esha Yousuf was the executive producer of the film while Amitabh Reza is the director of the movie.[3] The entire film was shot in Dhaka. Shooting of the film officially began in February 2015 and ended in August 2015. The film was released on 30 September 2016.[5]
The music for Aynabaji is composed by Arnob, Fuad, Habib & Chirkut Band. Songs have been well praised by critics.
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Alu Piyaj er Kabbo" | Shaan | 1:31 |
2. | "Dhire Dhire Jaw Na Somoy" | Habib Wahid, Anweshaa | 3:58 |
3. | "Duniya" | Chirkut Band | 3:44 |
4. | "Ei Shohor Amar" | Arnob | 3:29 |
5. | "Lag Velki Lag" | Fuad, Johan Alamgir, Sheikh Istiaq | 2:02 |
The film was released on 30 September 2016 in Dhaka and later in Chittagong and other cities. It was screened at Marché du Film at 69th annual Cannes Film Festival, where it scored well.[6] Aynabaji has won the award of the best film at United States's 11th Seattle South Asian Film Festival.[7] The movie was pirated after it was released on Robi online TV.[8] The film had a limited release in theaters in the United States, France, Canada and Australia.[9][10]
Aynabaji received large positive reviews.[11] The movie has received a good response from both critics and audience.[12] Zahid Akbar from The Daily Star gave the film a 4 out of 5 star rating, saying "The film provides the viewers with an empathic view to its characters, which is coupled with brilliant storytelling making the audience wanting more." He praised the film for its story, cast, Chanchal Chowdhury's performance, and "impeccable" cinematography, but criticized the film for being too long.[13]
Rafi Hossain of The Daily Star described it as "an instant blockbuster hit". It did a record 91 shows in 10 days, the highest number for any Bangladeshi film. With an occupancy record of 98.89%, in eight weeks it collected BDT 20.3 million.[14]
Aynabaji has a spin-off TV series titled Aynabaji-Original series. Gayatri an official Indian Telugu remake of Aynabaji has been released on 9 February 2018.[citation needed]