“To make a film disappear is to make a filmmaker disappear.”
After two years of censorship hurdles, Kamar Ahmad Simon’s long-delayed film Anyadin… is finally scheduled for a theatrical release in Bangladesh.
It will be released in cinemas on July 11, 2025.
The film will screen for seven consecutive days after being withheld from public viewing due to its controversial political subtext.
The release marks a turning point for the filmmaker, who once considered abandoning cinema entirely.
Simon stated: “To make a film disappear is to make a filmmaker disappear.”
He said the film’s “prophetic” nature during the previous political regime may have been the reason behind its earlier ban.
Anyadin… is the second instalment in Simon’s much-lauded Water Trilogy, following his debut feature Shunte Ki Pao! (Are You Listening!).
It won major international accolades, including the Grand Prix at Cinéma du Réel in Paris and the Golden Conch in Mumbai.
The first film also received Bangladesh’s National Film Award.
Despite facing a local release ban, Anyadin… earned global praise.
It was selected for the prestigious Cinefondation programme at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017.
In 2021, it premiered in the main competition of IDFA at Amsterdam’s historic Tuschinski Theatre.
The following year, it took home the Harrell Award for Best Feature at the Camden International Film Festival in North America.
Simon’s international reputation was further solidified when he became the first Bangladeshi director honoured as a Featured Director at Locarno’s Piazza Grande in 2016.
He also won the Arte International Prize in France.
In Bangladesh, however, the film’s journey has been less celebratory.
Until July 2025, Anyadin… remained barred from screening by the former Censor Board.
It wasn’t until a political shift and the formation of the new Bangladesh Film Certification Board that the film finally received clearance.
Certification was officially granted in March 2025.
Ahead of its public debut, a special screening was held on June 24, 2025, at Star Cineplex in Shimanto Shambhar, Dhaka.
The event brought together key figures from the country’s cultural and political landscape.
This included activist Hameeda Hossain and Shireen Huq, poet Farhad Mazhar, photographer Shahidul Alam, actor Azmeri Haque Badhan, and filmmaker Humaira Bilkis.
Produced by Sara Afreen, Anyadin… stands as both a cinematic and political statement.
After years of delays, it is now set to release where it was always meant to be—in Bangladeshi theatres.
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