After seven years in limbo, the Bangladesh Film Producers and Distributors Association is finally heading for an election. But before ballots are cast on 8 August, a bigger battle is raging: who qualifies as a producer?
Allegations of “seasonal producers”, revived credentials, acquired rights and behind-the-scenes manoeuvring have turned the election into a power struggle.
Members question why candidates who have not regularly produced films for four, five or more years are contesting. Insiders claim that, apart from Jahangir Sikder, almost none are consistently active producers.
There is no established evidence of deliberately manufactured credentials, but co-productions, acquired rights and unreleased films have prompted questions over whether “active producer” status is being stretched for electoral advantage.
The presidential race is between Khorshed Alam Khosru and actor-producer Ashraf Uddin Ahmed Uzzal; Shamsul Alam is among the general-secretary candidates.
Uzzal’s candidacy has drawn particular attention. Earlier this year, he was identified in connection with the certification application for Bou Jamaiyer Lorai, starring Hero Alom and Munmun.
Some industry figures claim he was not its original producer but acquired its rights.
The Bangladesh Film Certification Board later declared the film unsuitable for screening. Uzzal declined to comment, though he had previously said he was not the producer and had only assisted with it. Questions also remain over his latest production.
Khosru rejected questions about his production activity.
His prominent recent production is Golui, followed by Insaaf, released during Eid-ul-Azha in 2025 and co-produced with Kalam, owner of Titas Kothachitra. “This is not true. I regularly produce different films. Those spreading this claim can explain it better,” Khosru said.
Other records add fuel to the debate.
Suman Parvez produced Moynar Chor, released in January last year; Md Alimullah’s Moyna on Valentine’s Day 2025; Md Iqbal’s Deadbody during Eid-ul-Fitr 2024; Mahmudul Haque Palash’s Kagojer Bou on 19 January 2024; Golam Kibria Lipu co-produced Dard, released on 15 November 2024; and M N Ispahani last co-produced government-funded Hridita in 2022.
Sharif Chowdhury was involved with Matal, Dolowar Hossain Dilu with Jolrong, Mahbuba Shahreen with Officer, Jasim Uddin with Briddhashram and Alim Ullah with Moyna.
Critics allege that in several cases candidates were not principal producers or have produced nothing since.
Longer gaps include Md Atikur Rahman Liton, whose latest film Dabang was released in 2014, with no information found on another production; Soma Acharya, also known as Somakash, who last independently produced Mayabini, directed by Akash Acharya and released on 3 February 2017; Morshed Khan Himel, whose Pure Jay Mon came out in 2016; and Nadir Khan, under Rajesh Films, whose last production was Dulabhai Zindabad in 2017.
Md Sohrab Hossain last co-produced Begum Jaan in 2019. Shamsul Alam co-produced Iti Chitra, released on 20 October 2023.
Abdul Momin Khan co-produced government-funded Bildakini, funded in 2019–20, shot from January 2022 and still unreleased. Mahabub Hasan Khan last produced Bhalobashar Jowar in 2023.
Sharif Chowdhury’s latest production was Shahin Suman’s Matal, released on 12 October 2018, while Md Anwar Hossain last produced Ghor Bhanga Songsar in 2024. No confirmed information was found on Rabiul Islam Rabi or Nazmul Huda’s latest productions.
M Nazrul Islam Chowdhury has also faced questions from members, who claim he was not widely known in the industry before the Film Club election and later became an association member after acquiring a film’s rights.
Individually, these histories do not prove deliberate engineering of producer credentials.
Collectively, they have intensified concerns over whether genuinely active producers or those whose production involvement has gone dormant are contesting.
The issue matters more because voting rules have changed: previously, producers could gain additional voting rights through multiple am-moktarname documents when they produced multiple films; now each producer counts as one voter regardless of output, making producer status political currency.
The association last held an election on 27 July 2019.
Voter-list disputes, lawsuits and legal complications left it without elected leadership for seven years.
An election attempt on 21 May 2022 was suspended by the High Court on polling day after allegations that multiple voters had been included under the same TIN.
A new schedule was announced in April. The 2026–28 election was initially set for 11 July but postponed to 8 August. The Ministry of Commerce published 40 valid candidates on 5 July, with around 150–160 voters expected.
Another controversy followed when Khosru’s presidential and Shamsul Alam’s general-secretary nominations were cancelled under a provision introduced in 2025. They argued the rule could not lawfully apply to the ongoing election and called the decision politically motivated. They appealed to the Ministry of Commerce’s Appeal Board and regained their candidacies.
Rival camps are now seeking a last-minute compromise. At a Gulshan meeting on Sunday night, producer Mohammad Iqbal initiated talks with Khosru, Uzzal, Shamsul Alam, Lipu, Jahangir Sikder and Md Atikur Rahman Liton. Under the proposal, Khosru would withdraw and support Uzzal, while Lipu would back Shamsul Alam for general secretary. Disagreements over the “chair” reportedly collapsed the compromise.
Iqbal subsequently withdrew, saying in a Monday evening video message that the compromise had collapsed over the “chair” issue and that the industry’s interests were being overshadowed by a desire to secure the top position. He apologised to the producers, said he had never wanted to contest and had been forced to stand, and withdrew, adding that he would consider contesting only if there were a fair election.
With 42 candidates from two panels contesting 21 posts, the scramble for top positions has become almost as important as the vote itself.
After seven years of deadlock, the election is finally within reach. But it has exposed a deeper question: are these candidates producers because they are actively making films, or because, when an election arrived, they found a way to become producers on paper?
