After months of complications, from censor board hurdles to producer-related setbacks, Raihan Rafi’s films ‘Noor’ and ‘Omimangshito’ are finally set for release this month. Noor will stream on Bioscope Plus, while Omimangshito heads to i-Screen.
Bioscope Plus has confirmed that Noor will premiere on December 11. i-Screen had scheduled Omimangshito for December 12 but with Noor arriving the day before, the team is considering a slight delay. Even so, the film is expected to be released by December 20.
“Finally, both films are releasing. It’s a relief,” Rafi said, reacting to the long-awaited progress. “You already know Omimangshito was held up at the censor board; otherwise, it would not have taken this long. And Noor had its own complications. For various reasons, it could not be released.”
For any director, having a finished film stuck in limbo is painful. “Along with the pressure, it’s genuinely upsetting,” Rafi admitted. “We make films for people to watch. If that does not happen, how could it feel good?”
Noor is arriving nearly five or six years after production wrapped, which raises the obvious question of whether it will still feel current. Rafi believes it will. “Noor fits the time it was made in. We made it with a budget of 45 to 50 lakh taka. Since then, I have made many films, I have grown, and the times have changed. Still, the reactions have been positive. I am seeing good buzz on social media.”
Some viewers feel Noor is a theatrical film, so they are asking why it is releasing on OTT. Rafi explained, “We genuinely wanted a theatrical release. But we would have needed to reshoot some scenes and that required money we did not have. On top of that, the situation in the country changed and the producer sold the film to another party. A lot of complications stacked up.”
Even so, Rafi is pleased with where it has landed. “It is being released on OTT and I think it is great content for that platform. People will watch it at home, feel emotional, maybe even tear up. And let me say one thing. Noor is already a hit. We sold it to OTT for twice the film’s budget. It is releasing as a commercially successful film, so I am not worried.”
Rafi is known for actively promoting his releases, but Noor has been an exception. He says he is currently unwell and unable to campaign for it and hopes the audience will talk about the film instead.
He is equally optimistic about Omimangshito. “It was a challenging project. The censor board held it up unnecessarily,” he said.
Rafi recently wrapped shooting for Andhar. He also revealed that another of his films will be released before Andhar during the next Eid, although he declined to share the title.
