Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged the filmmakers to make life-oriented quality movies, saying that a good movie can change a person’s life or a society.

Movies should be life-oriented as these attract people… a movie can change a person’s life or a society,” she said, addressing ceremony to distribute the National Film Award-2021 as chief guest in city’s Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC), organized by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Mentioning that people get the image of their life in movies, she said cinema and drama can develop human thinking and consciousness and can keep the people away from crime.

“If our writers write life-oriented literature, and movies and dramas are made based on that, it would create opportunities for us as we want to pull (the society) forward, improve quality of people’s life and create opportunities for flourishing talents,” she said.

Referring to the popularity of good movies, she said that many movies have been produced in the past few years which were truly of the international standards. “People have also accepted those and that’s how we all need to work.”

The Prime Minister said, once upon a time, movies used to be made with vulgar scenes or imitations following others, but instead of that, all should learn from good things and avoid the bad ones.

“(All should) consider what is good for the society and it should be contemplated whenever you make a film,” she said, adding that “film is a media which can improve mentality of the countrymen.”

Sheikh Hasina opined that there is a need for movies that parents, brothers and sisters can watch together. Highlighting the government’s initiative to stop obscenity and piracy, she said that a task-force is being formed to stop production of films with vulgarity and piracy. “If so, those would be stopped,” she said.

The other award winners are: Nurul Alam Atik (screenwriter), Towqir Ahmed (dialogue), Samir Ahmed (best editing), Shihab Nurun Nabi (best art direction), Syed Kashef Shahbazi, Sumon Kumar Sarkar and Mazharul Islam Razu (jointly for best cinematographer), Shaiba Talukder (sound designer), Idila Kasrin Farid (costume and design), and Md Farukh and Md Farhad Reza (makeup).

In addition, “Tungi Parar Mia Bhai” was given “Mujib Borsha” and “Golden Jubilee of the Country’s Independence” Special National Film Award-2021.