The ‘Hridoye Dhaka 416’ festival began on Saturday at Madhumita Cinema Hall in the capital, celebrating Dhaka’s heritage and film history. Organised by Dhaka South City Corporation, the opening day honoured 58 distinguished figures of Dhaka cinema and three historic theatres: Lion Cinema Hall, Azad Cinema Hall and Madhumita Cinema Hall.

Living honourees included actresses Sujata, Suchanda, Anwara, Bobita, Nutan, Champa and Shabnaz, along with actors Ujjal, Sohel Rana, Alamgir, Khaja Naim Murad and Azad Rahman Shakil. Awards also recognised contributors to lyrics, music, cinematography, directing and film journalism, including Mohammad Rafiquzzaman, Abida Sultana, Sheikh Sadi Khan, Reza Latif, Chhotku Ahmed and Chinmoy Mutsuddi.

Posthumous honours went to filmmakers including Abdul Jabbar Khan, Zahir Raihan, Amjad Hossain, Subhash Dutta and Chashi Nazrul Islam, as well as performers and music professionals. The festival also started screenings of 13 memorable Bangladeshi films at Madhumita Cinema Hall, opening with ‘Mukh O Mukhosh’, described as Bangladesh’s first full-length sound film. DSCC administrator Md Abdus Salam chaired the inauguration.