Min Aroop Biswas, KMC officials watch B'desh's Oscar contender Hawa at KIFF

Kolkata: Minister Aroop Biswas seems to have been waiting to watch Hawa — the Bangladeshi film that has come like a gush of new breeze.

On Friday, when the Chanchal Chowdhury-starrer had a special screening at Nandan, the minister said he and the officials from Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) had come to especially watch Hawa. The film has been nominated for the Best International Feature Film category at the 95th Academy Awards (Oscars), which will be held next year. A self-confessed fan of Chowdhury, a two-time Bangladesh National Award-winning actor, Biswas wished if both the film industries could make movies together. "We were looking forward to watch Hawa, which crossed the geographical boundaries of Dhaka to reach Kolkata. I am a fan of Chanchal Chowdhury and the representatives of KMC have also come to watch the film. I was going through all the film's clips on Facebook and by now, I know the entire Shada Kala song, which is such a huge hit. Also, I would want Mejbaur Rahman Sumon (director of Hawa) to make more films and cast these brilliant actors," he said.

For Chowdhury, it was nothing but a surreal experience to share the stage with Indian stalwarts like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji and Jaya Bachchan at the inauguration of the 28th KIFF.

"I don't have words to express my gratitude to the KIFF authorities for organising a special screening of Hawa. Earlier, it was screened at the Bangladesh film festival at Nandan and we saw the craze around it," he said.

Minister Indranil Sen said his daughter had already watched Hawa and told him about the "brilliant concept". Hawa tells the story of a group of fishermen in mid-sea who found a beautiful mystery woman in their net.

Meanwhile, Sumon said when they were making Hawa, he didn't have any inkling it would resonate so well among people on both sides of the border. Actress Nazifa Tushi, who plays the mystery woman, is happy that Hawa is being commercially screened in West Bengal theatres from Friday, which coincides with Vijay Diwas, the day of India's victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war.

Srijit, who introduced Hawa to the audience at the KIFF, said he is planning a project with the Bangladeshi actor.