# The lost cinema halls of Bangladesh

> Bangladesh's old cinemas never truly die: Gulistan became a neighbourhood, Abhisar a song, and Shyamoli returned inside the mall that replaced it.

Published: 2026-10-02 · Desk: Bangladesh · Source: Maisha Quadery · By: Maliha Rahham

There was a time when a cinema hall could give an entire neighbourhood its name. Today, you can stand in Gulistan surrounded by buses, shops, crowds and the permanent sound of Dhaka trying to get somewhere and never realise that the place itself was named after a cinema hall.

That is the strange thing about Bangladesh’s old cinemas. Their screens went dark, their seats were ripped out, and many of their buildings disappeared beneath shopping complexes and apartment blocks, but somehow they refused to die completely. Their ghosts are still giving people directions.

In 1953, Gulistan Cinema Hall opened near Fulbaria Railway Station. It was Dhaka's first modern air-conditioned cinema hall with a symbol of luxury at a time when cool air inside a movie theatre was practically futuristic technology. The hall became so famous that the growing commercial area around it eventually became known simply as Gulistan. The cinema was demolished decades later, but the name remained. Gulistan became immortal, and now every bus conductor shouts, 'Gulistan!' Gulistan!’ is unknowingly keeping an old cinema hall alive. 

Then there was the cinema that escaped into a song called the Abhisar Cinema Hall in Tikatuli. Founded in 1968, Abhisar was once a thousand seat theatre and one of Dhaka's recognisable landmarks. Its 52-year journey ended in 2020 amid financial pressure and the pandemic. The building was demolished and replaced by commercial development eventually, but Abhisar had already found a way to survive. Its name had escaped into a famous song about the cinema hall at Tikatuli crossing called ‘Tikatulir More Ekta Hall Royeche’ by Matin Chowdhury. Even today the song can reportedly still be heard at weddings and neighbourhood celebrations. 

Shyamoli Cinema took a different route. The original 1300-seat hall opened in 1976 and became important enough that the surrounding area itself became associated with its name. Then in 2007, the building was demolished to make way for Shyamoli Square. For seven years, the cinema disappeared, and then in 2014 it returned by rebooming inside the very shopping complex that had replaced it. Smaller and more modern, with only 306 seats, Shyamoli had essentially become its own sequel, calling itself the Shyamoli Cinema Returns. 

Old Dhaka's Manoshi Cinema Hall opened on Bangshal Road in 1936. During its busiest years, especially in the 1980s, audiences were enough for screenings to continue until midnight. After more than 80 years, Manoshi closed in 2019. The signboard now points people towards Manoshi Complex, which is now a shopping mall.

Outside Dhaka, Monihar Cinema Hall became something much bigger than a theatre. When it opened in Jashore on 9 December 1983, the excitement was so enormous that shops reportedly shut down for the occasion. The four-storey, air-conditioned hall had 1430 seats and became one of Bangladesh's most legendary cinema venues. Over the decades crowds lined up outside to watch films, and the surrounding area itself became known as Monihar. This hall fought hard to survive into the modern era, but its story has entered a new and uncertain chapter with plans reported to transform the iconic property for commercial development while preserving cinema in a newer form.

Azad Cinema Hall feels like a survivor from another century. Originally known as Mukul Talkies, it dates back to 1929. The hall screened The Last Kiss, which is remembered as the first silent film produced in the city. For decades, Azad was a gathering place for intellectuals and artists and film lovers. Today it stands in a fragile state, as its ageing structure and outdated equipment reflect the slow decline of the traditional single-screen cinema. 

Modhumita Cinema Hall opened in Motijheel in 1967 and became one of Dhaka's most famous theatres. Despite television, DVDs, smartphones and streaming, it has continued to survive while many others disappeared. Plans to redevelop the hall have come and gone, making Modhumita a perfect symbol of an industry that is constantly declared dead but somehow keeps showing another film.

Shabistan's story began as Picture House in Armanitola around 1913–14, making it one of Dhaka's earliest cinema halls. Decades later, it became Shabistan and remained part of the city's movie culture for generations, but it disappeared, and then it got replaced by modern development. 

Gulistan became a neighbourhood, Abhisar became a song, Manoshi became a street name, Shaymoli came back from demolition, Monihar became a part of Jessore’s identity, Azad continues to hold on, Modhumita keeps fighting its own ending and Shabistan survives in the memories of the city that has been built over it. Maybe a cinema hall never truly dies when people still remember where it stood. Maybe every time someone says, 'Meet me near Gulistan,’ or remembers watching their first film at Modhumita, somewhere in a building that no longer exists, the projector starts running again, and for just a moment the lights go down, the screen flickers, and the old cinema comes back to life.

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