Balaka is a

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

located in

New Market New Market may refer to: Bangladesh *New Market, Dhaka *New Market, Khulna, in Sonadanga Model Thana *New Market, Chittagong, near Government City College, Chittagong India * New Market, Bhopal *New Market, Kolkata Jamaica *New Market, Jama ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. Balaka Cineworld, one of the oldest movie theaters in the country, was closed on 20 March 2020 for

COVID-19 epidemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

, but reopened on 29 September 2022.

History

Balaka Cineworld was established by MA Hasan in

Dacca Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

, the capital of

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

on 27 August 1951, five years after the establishment of the

Dominion of Pakistan Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of I ...

. After Hasan's death in the 1970s, the movie theater was owned and operated by his heirs. In 1985, a branch theater of Balaka Cineworld, Balaka-2, was established. Balaka was first modernized in 2001. In 2015, the second Balaka was closed due to lack of customers. The digital tuning system was first introduced in the country at Balaka Cineworld. On 7 November 2019, after the death of Mohammad Hasan Ali Imam, managing director of Hasan Movies Limited, a conflict arose between his two wives and children over the ownership of the movie theater. In such a situation Mohammad Hossain, the son-in-law of the Imam's daughter, was given the responsibility of managing the movie theater. Balaka Cineworld closed on 20 March 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Balaka could not be opened due to monetary loss of during the lockdown and legacy issues of the movie theater.

Features

The movie theater currently has 1011 seats. Four shows are held here daily.

References

{{Commons Cinemas in Dhaka 1951 establishments in East Pakistan