According to the Television Program Producers Association of Bangladesh (TelePAB), television dramas worth between Tk 1,000 crore and Tk 12,000 crore are produced annually. But how did this massive investment fare in 2025?
The long-standing complaints producers had about shrinking drama budgets are no longer as prominent. Over the past few years, the average budget of a television drama has decreased to Tk3 to Tk4 lakh, although in some cases it still exceeds Tk30 lakh. Producing a drama starring Apurba, Afran Nisho, or Mehazabien Chowdhury requires a minimum budget of Tk12 to Tk15 lakh. Yet despite these figures, revenue from television dramas has fallen at an alarming rate this year.
A report published by The TIMES of Bangladesh in July pointed to a sharp decline in sponsorship income due to the country’s overall economic situation. Additionally, policy changes by YouTube and Facebook have reduced digital platform earnings by nearly one-third. As a result, the number of dramas produced, including during Eid, dropped noticeably this year. The era when production costs could be recovered simply by selling a drama to a television channel is long over.
Perhaps the most distressing development has been the reduced demand for senior and character actors. Actress Mou Shikha publicly highlighted the lack of work through a Facebook post. Veteran actor Abul Hayat told TIMES, “Everyone is now chasing likes and views. Producers claim that casting elderly artists or character actors ruins the visual appeal of the screen. That is simply untrue. If they cannot make use of my years of experience, that is their misfortune.”
This year also saw several popular television actresses making their film debuts. Some have since focused primarily on cinema, stepping away from regular television work. Among them are Mehjabeen Chowdhury, Tanjin Tisha, Sabila Noor and Tasnia Farin. Their absence has created a noticeable void in TV dramas. At the same time, however, the workload of actresses such as Tatini, Naznin Niha, Himi, Sadia Ayman, Aisha Khan and Sunera Binte Kamal has increased.
For decades, television dramas have been judged largely by their YouTube view counts. That trend weakened considerably in 2025 as audiences became more discerning. While comedy dramas had dominated in recent years and family-centric stories had declined, this year witnessed a welcome return of family narratives. Notable examples include ‘Mamar Bari’, ‘Attiyo’, ‘Ekannoborti’, ‘Tomader Golpo’, ‘Uttaradhikar’, ‘Babao Manus’, ‘Dena Paona’, ‘Eta Amaderi Golpo’ and ‘Dhushor Projapoti’.
Afran Nisho appeared in only a handful of dramas this year as his focus shifted towards OTT platforms and films. Apurba, another leading television actor, also reduced his workload. In this changing landscape, Yash Rohan emerged as a prominent presence in TV dramas, with his on-screen pairing with Tanjim Saiyara Totini proving particularly popular. Partho Sheikh also delivered strong performances. Among established names, Tausif, Mushfiqur Rahman and Irfan Sajjad remained visible through multiple projects.
Overall, despite numerous challenges, the television drama industry in 2025 offered glimpses of promise amid the setbacks. It is this hope that artists and producers will carry forward into the new year.
