Aynabaji

Plot

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. It is also a story about the dark side of metro city Dhaka.

Cast

Brindabon Das plays a prison officer while Arifin Shuvo, and Bijori Barkatullah makes guest appearances as AC Sajjad and Saber's separated wife respectively. Producer Gousul Alam and director Amitabh Reza have special appearances.

Production

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. The entire film was shot in Dhaka. Shooting of the film officially began on February 2015 and ended in August 2015. The film was released on 30 September 2016.

Soundtrack

The music for Aynabaji is composed by Arnob, Fuad, Habib & Chirkut Band. Songs have been well praised by critics.

Release

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. Aynabaji has won the award of the best film at United States's 11th Seattle South Asian Film Festival. The movie was pirated after it was release on Robi online TV. The film had a limited release in theaters in the United States, France, Canada and Australia.

Reception

Aynabaji has received largely positive reviews. The movie has received a good response from audience. 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.

Box office

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 three weeks it collected BDT 21.3 million.