Bangladesh Television (BTV) a state owned national TV
Channel.Regular transmission of TV programmes began immediately
after the Second World War. TV appeared in this subcontinent two
decades later. The first TV transmission in East Pakistan began
experimentally on 25 December 1964 with the help of a 300-watt
transmitter from the DIT (now rajuk) building in Dhaka. The daily
broadcast for three hours in the evening used to cover a radius of
16 km. Ten years later on 6 March 1975, the TV centre moved to its
own spacious house at Rampura. In view of its importance as a
vehicle for helping reconstruction of the war-torn country, the
autonomous Television Corporation was nationalised in 1972 and made
a government department named as Bangladesh Television (BTV). The
limited range of its transmission gradually improved with the
installation of 12 satellite transmitters around the country and
spread of electrification at the viewer level. Now over 95% of the
country is covered by transmission. Its Chittagong station has
already started originating programmes while the other stations
relay Dhaka programmes. The relay stations are located at Sylhet,
Mymensingh, Brahmanbaria, Rangpur, Natore, Thakurgaon, Jhenaidah,
Khulna, Satkhira, Patuakhali and Noakhali. The Dhaka station has a
20-kw transmitter while the other stations except Satkhira are
equipped with 10 kw transmitters. Satkhira has a 2-kw
transmitter.
In 1980, Bangladesh Television started transmission in
colour and a new milestone was reached in 1999 when a Tk 690
million modernisation programme was completed. At present, 1,520
officers and staff work in eight departments 204 in programme, 32
in news, 132 in camera, 116 in design, 540 in administration, 95 in
accounts and 23 in sales. As part of its programme for expansion of
transmission, BTV is establishing other four satellite stations at
Rajshahi, Rajbari, Rangamati and Ukhia.
There is no accurate account of the number of TV
receiver sets in use in the country. The licensed sets number about
600,000 but unofficially, the number is estimated to be about two
million. This shows that an average of 65 persons of the country's
130 million people have one TV set. Most sets are owned by the
urban families leaving a vast majority of the rural people out of
coverage.
The government took a number of steps to globalise
BTV's transmissions. A project funded by the Spanish government was
undertaken to make BTV's programmes available to the overseas
viewers. With the help of the ground stations at Betbunia and
Talibabad, BTV can report any event happening anywhere in the
world. Under arrangements with Asiavision, SAARC and other
international organisations, BTV regularly exchanges coverage on
news and programmes. The government lately approved three private
sector channels to operate transmission for viewers of both home
and abroad. More such channels are expected to come in the near
future. BTV transmits private sector package programmes to bring in
variety in its fare.
Television
Play
Television Play dramas or plays telecast
on television. With the development
of technical facilities, TV started broadcasting plays. However,
the management and technical skills needed for TV drama are
different from those of stage dramas. Format-wise, TV drama finds
itself placed in between drama and cinema. Dramatic dialogue,
protagonists, different scenes, use of light and sound etc are
utilized as on the stage but the actors and actresses of course do
not remain present in person. As in the cinema, they are presented
through their images in TV dramas. The camera plays an important
role in framing the overall scene through selection of the size and
angle of reflection. In the process, the theory of making films is
followed to some extent.
A television play was first broadcast in Bangladesh
(formerly East Pakistan) on 25 December 1964. A comedy titled
Ektala O Dotala (ground floor and first floor) written
by munier
chowdhuryand directed by Monirul Alam was
telecast for the first time on 27 February 1965. Lilly Chowdhury,
Ferdous Ara, Dolly Ibrahim, Khondker Rafiqul Haq and Ramendu
Mazumder acted in this play. Usually, TV plays are of an hour's
duration.
Initially, telecast of dramas had to face certain
limitations. In the absence of VTR facilities all the programmes
had to be telecast live and the scenes and stage scenery were
created with limited facilities. When the VTR facility was added
after quite a long time, editing of the recorded scenes continued
to be difficult due to the absence of editing facilities. Outdoor
shooting or recording of scenes on location was impossible at that
point. Artists had to act, sitting or standing, before a set of
outdoor scenes painted by artists. Later on, when Bangladesh
television moved to its own building at Rampura, and facilities for
rehearsal room, use of several studios, transport facilities for
outdoor shooting, skilled set designers, requisite cameras and
cameramen, latest technology for controlling light and sound etc
were made available, the quality of TV drama improved subsequently.
Nowadays no play is shown live on TV; only after necessary editing
in the studio TV dramas are telecast.
TV drama is considered to be one of the most popular
forms of entertainment. So regular weekly dramas, drama serials,
special dramas on such occasions as Victory Day, Independence Day,
Eid, Christmas, Durga Puja, the birth and death anniversaries of
Rabindranath and Nazrul etc are broadcast on TV. Of the drama
serials and plays broadcast, some of the popular ones were
Triratna (talented three), Sakal Sandhya
(morning-evening), Samay Asamay (In time and out of time),
Bhanganer Shabda Shuni (Sound of breakdown),
Sangsaptak (soldier vowing to win or embrace martyrdom),
Ei Sab Din Ratri (These days and nights), Ayomay
(made of iron), Kothao Keu Nei (no one here),
Raktakarabi (a flower), Idiot, Shahjadir Kalo
Nekab (princess's black veil), Ekhane Nongar (anchor
here), Suprabhat Dhaka (good-morning Dhaka), Durbin Diye
Dekhun (View through telescope), Babar Kalam Kothay
(Where is father's pen?), Aynay Bandhur Mukh (A friend's
face on the looking glass), Ksudhita Pasan (hungry stone)
etc.
The subjects TV dramas deal with include such as family
and social life, the language
movement, the Liberation struggle and War,
politics, love, degeneration of society etc. However, the dramas
that have dealt with subjects concerning family life and social
degeneration have been most well-received by the audience. Quite a
few of TV dramas have the Liberation War as its main subject. Those
plays have depicted the atrocities and repression carried out by
the occupation Pakistani army, training of
the mukti
bahini(freedom fighters), guerilla warfare,
spirit of the war of
liberationetc.
Nevertheless most dramas broadcast during the period
starting from the 90's till today have human love as their central
theme. But a number of plays stand out for their depiction or are
marked for varieties for their focus on village life, ordinary
people struggling for a living, sub-human life in city's slums,
mechanical city life, conflict and struggle within low-income
families, the connections between city people and rural folks, and
the growing distance between them.
Of late, a few short plays aimed at educating people
are being telecast. These plays concentrate on issues like planting
of trees, population control, awareness of health, education,
animal husbandry, pisciculture etc. These are of 10-15 minutes'
duration. These plays have an important role in educating people
about these aspects of national life. Those who have earned fame as
producers and playwrights at different times are Zaman Ali Khan,
Waliullah Fahmi, Khaleda Fahmi, Monirul Alam, Abdullah Yusuf Imam,
Mostafa Monwar, Deen Mohammad, Mostafizur Rahman, Syed Siddique
Hossain, Abdullah Al Mamun, Barkatullah, Mominul Haq, Noazesh Ali
Khan, Atiqul Haq Chowdhury, Nasiruddin Yusuf, Mamunur Rashid,
Humayun Ahmed, Syed Ahmed, Selim Al Din et al.
Among the most popular artistes are Lily Chowdhury,
Syed Lutfunnessa, rawshan
jamil, Mirana Zaman, Jahanara Ahmed, Ayesha
Akhter, mohammad
zakaria, Momtazuddin Ahmed, Abul Khair,
Abdullah Al Mamun, Ramendu Mazumder, Golam Mostafa, Masud Ali Khan,
Zahirul Haq, Ariful Haq, Nazmul Huda Bachchu, Rini Reza, Syed Ahsan
Ali (Sydney), Mita Chowdhury, Dilshad Khanam, Keya Chowdhury, Abul
Hayat, Ali Zaker, Asaduzzaman Noor, Ferdousi Majumder, Keramat
Mowla, Al Mansur, Jamaluddin Hossain, Sara Zaker, Pijus
Bandyopadhyay, Afzal Hossain, Feroza Banu, Laki Inam, Raisul Islam
Asad, Humayun Faridi, Subarna Mostafa.
