User Reviews

This is a trademark cynicism. Ayanabaji has very consciously picked up the story of the image of social conflict of locality . People live in the midst of nature. Dialectics of the realities of the main themes of the movie. Director has cleared all his talent and labor. The story has become a full movie Ayanabaji as per variation of screenplay structure, humorous dialogue and full dedication to be a successful production in the contemporary period.

Musical arrangement was so touchy and emotionally attracted.Uniqueness of artistic way of art direction and so far every single shot provokes every mango audience to fixed in their seat. Cinematographer Rashed Zaman has done a tremendous job for giving his merit of knowledge of experience in every single shot to made screenplay as if live imagination.

Besides, traditional Bengali film footprint it is little bit quite different for its story telling process as per 'dark comedy' images can be found in the Screen. Simply, other sides of coin of life compared as exchange of mirror reflection of the life story is Ayanabaji.

Scripted by the director to portray the struggle of life without fantasy. it is not a fairy tale . Film is larger than life proves to be concerned of.

Each character in the film has been able to establish a spiritual relationship with the audience. present themselves in very honest way without any kind of fraud with audience. Class character portrayed honestly has the right to present positions and relationships.

Sound-light-period game has increased artistic value of movie audiences' interest and attraction. Shot continuity able to properly present the series of events as his urban structure creates a unique illusion.

Filmmaker expresses his devotion and honesty. Lexical artistic value not the slightest compromise.All of the lexical grammar of the film's existence has drastically Ayanabaji reformation.

Its a time to be a change maker. Turn to take responsibility.

In Ayanabaji you're probably familiar with the people there. Ayanabaji either side of your story. Above all, we can;Ayanabaji able to build on our originality. Ayanabaji bet to catch the picture. Please accounts .... You bet. You may see the other side of the mirror,smiling face; the smile of pleasure.

May be some people could say that it is overrated or something like that but actually this movie is a piece.A challenging role played by Chanchal Chowdhury make the movie special.Every small role was given importance by Director. Amitabh Reza Chowdhury was the real kick ass.His shooting with a drawn was a great idea.Location,photography,cinematography,cas ting,costume,set designing,editing ; everything was just awesome.The story was unique and different. The dialogue was the best of Bangladeshi Cinema.Some dialogue contains a deep meaning.It is worth to watch.And obviously in Cinema Hall.

In Bangladesh movie industry are not helpful, standard and they are not developed. But some directors are really hard and soul trying to developing this sector. Amitabh Reza Chowdhury one of them. This is the only crime movie which is goes to level of Hollywood. Story, direction, casting, screenplay all of sector they did very well. It's a crime movie, and it full fills our expectation. Last twist is extremely awesome. which is quit awesome. If you did not see this movie, go hurry!! see the movie. you'l love it.. Chanchal Chowdhury, Masuma Rahman Nabila they are heavy weight actor in Bangladeshi movie industry.

One of the good movies of recent times. I like the uniqueness of the plot. Probably this is the first Bangladeshi movie that tries drama and suspense genre with pure Bangladeshi urban flavor. It's mesmerizing to see familiar locations like Paribag, Puran Dhaka, Sadar Ghat etc with subliminal frames. Chanchal Chowdhury again showed why he was awarded National Film Awards back in 2009.

Though the film has an unique plot line but I feel somewhere it lacks a bit depth as a full length feature film (probably it's the expectation from such a talented bunch of creative peoples). The second thing is the slow momentum and pace of events, sometimes you need to wait a bit more to see next events to happen. And the last thing is over using of drone and new/unknown frames to present the sequences. No doubt it is a sex for eyes to see such beautiful cinematography but this also distracts you and make you to give more attention on cinematography and frames (technical aspects) than the story itself.

However, the hype creating and overwhelming response of the crowds inspire us that there is still a big market for Bangladeshi movies, our movies.

This is my first time review writing to IMDb, please pardon me for mistakes.

According to Bangladeshi movie industry, "Aynabaji" gave us a totally new taste. It's absolutely a new trend for movie industry. "Chanchal Chowdhury" proved his talent again; all other shiny actors (including actress) did a very good job. Thanks to all.

Choreography was wonderful and I recommend everyone to watch this movie.

Most importantly, I would like to thank "Amitabh Reza Chowdhury" and Sound designer for using modern sound recording technology. For long time I didn't visit cinema hall for watching any Bangla movie and surprisingly this is the first time I found separate sound tracks has been used in Bangla movie (In Bangladesh). According to my observation I think sound track was recorded using 7.1 channels or 6.1 channels and also of course Dolby noise reduction technology has been used.

If the sound recording engineer doesn't mind then I would like to say, there was one mistake and that is, when the political person was speaking from behind then his voice was coming through front or center channels. There could be another improvement, when the train was moving rightwards; the sound should be fade-out/fade-in to right back channel whereas sound directly gone to rear right channel. Thank you.

All casting is awesome. Chanchal Chowdhury as Ayna is the best part of the movie. His performance is simply outstanding. Amitav Reza Chowdhury just made a blast on the city by this movie. and the best part of the movie is i have never seen ending like that. Totally different ending. I was surprised and thinking what he have done !!! Bangla film industry was not in a good condition. I think it will be in a good shape after that movie. The name of this movie is so much related to the story. very nice, smart and choosy name.Thanks to Syed Gaosul Alam Shaon for such a good story. Ayna is a magician of acting. He made an illusion to the society.

The movie is one piece of excellent film making in Bangladesh film industry till date. The hard work of the Director totally reflected including the entire teams work. Cinematography of the movie shows the development of the creative minds and technology use.

The actors played their very well. Chanchal Chowdhury did an outstanding performance. He proved his excellence. He is an terrific actor which know from other films. But he crossed his own excellence here.

The story line of the movie is very exceptional. Well executed and I couldn't think of any other end it could have been. Every bit of the movie had it's purpose. Well written story and the dialogues too. Music director also did very good. All the songs and background music were perfectly plotted. Bangla music essence was there.

Overall, this movie is a very good watch! Every artist behind the movie and on screen did amazing which the movie reflects. Hats off to the team work!

A great combination of story and direction nice cinematography. Promising acting overall a great work. Amitab reza a new director from Bangladesh who just showed that it possible to do a better work if you give such effort. A great combination of thriller, romance and comedy. Its kind of a psychological thriller. Chanchal Ahmed a great actor showed his talent. I would suggest every movie lovers to watch this movie in the theater. Its a pre-release review so a details review will come soon after the release. This is the directors first big screen direction. I always loved his work. He did some excellent drama in Bangladeshi TV drama.

Amitabh Raza: He is one of the finest maker in Bangladesh. Previously he made so many excellent TV dramas and commercials, so when I heard that he's coming into the big screen and making his debut film, I was so thrilled and excited. Besides that, Rashed Zaman, the cinematographer (whom I call Bangladesh's Emmanuel Lubezki) was the other captivating element of this film which entices me even more. Today, I went to see the film which was the very first day of it's release and came back home with wide wonderment and joy.

The lead actor, Chanchal Chowdhury is one of the brightest actor in this generation. Before, he was so good in Monpura (2009) and Television (2013). And now in Aynabaji he simply enchanted and stole the whole show single handedly. I can guarantee, he will win The National Award for sure. The story line was so unique and had so much depth, which allows Chanchal to make it more blazed. Chanchal is a sheer virtuoso of acting and this is obviously his best work so far.

Not only Chanchal, the others actors, actress also put up a good show. Lutfur Rahman George, Partho Barua acted very well. Masuma Rahman Nabila was surprisingly good. There were some teeny tiny irrationality with the story line, but they are absolutely negligible, because if you want to compare with Bangladeshi Standard, Aynabaji was exceptionally good. In camera work, in sound editing and mixing, in casting ensemble, in costume, the whole film so skillfully mastered. The songs are pretty good, the script has so many punches and humors.

Hats off to the whole team. This movie is highly recommended for all, to the general viewer and also for the other people who kind of love to see different tracks of movies.

If the hype around social media wasn't enough to get someone's attention to this movie, the buzz and response outside surely were. Aynabaji stormed through cinema halls at a time when Bengali movie industry was awaiting its impending doom and eventual loss of identity by morphing into just another counterfeit of more profitable Indian movie industries. Evidently, this was enough to make the Bangladeshi moviegoers rediscover their craving for Bengali cinema. But does it make Aynabaji the movie that it is fabled to be? My answer may not satisfy some.

As I am reviewing it anyway, let me get started with the positives first. Aynabaji is unique. There is nothing quite like it in Bengali cinema. And the titular character Ayna is certainly one of the most complex and fascinating characters in Bengali fiction. He can be seen as a meta-commentary to actors in a whole. The struggles that come with their professions and how this affect their sense of personal identity. The director did a tremendous job at fleshing him out. While not a comedy, it's dry humor was witty and fitting but pretty shallow as well. The soundtrack and background sounds were nicely placed in many of the scenes but grossly exaggerated in others. While it tried to break out of the shell of a typical Bengali movie, it failed. Attention to detail in set design, cinematography and the portrayal of Dhaka was accurately done. Another thing also worth mentioning is the way some recurring characters aren't just cardboard cutouts but characters somewhat resembling real human beings even if the primary focus was always on the titular character.

Sadly, Aynabaji isn't the perfect movie that many speak of. And many of its strong aspects are overshadowed by faults. The biggest issue of Aynabaji is that it tries to be too many things at once. A drama, a character study, a thriller, a satire, a love story, a psychological thriller, a slapstick comedy and in the end, it doesn't know what it is. The plot was needlessly convoluted and many plot elements were brought up and then thrown out without a warning or handled without necessary care. And some of the major events were made possible by plot conveniences which were undoubtedly immersion-breaking, The director bet his dollar on a willing suspension of disbelief too often and it doesn't pay off.

The acting is certainly sub-par. The actors are either overacting or underacting. The sound editing doesn't do it any good either. And the cartoonish and grossly stereotypical representation of some side characters makes them increasingly difficult to take seriously(Especially the major and minor antagonists). In fact, keeping a straight face and not cringing becomes rather challenging as the movie progresses.

The writing is filled to the brim with amateurish movie tropes. It doesn't try to think outside the box. As a result, the movie becomes predictable to anyone with minimal movie viewing experience. And the dialogue, oh the dialogue! It is undoubtedly the worst part of this movie. If I had a penny for every time the characters tried and miserably failed to say something profound, I'd have my ticket back. Bad dialogues don't make good chemistry either. As a result, character chemistry was forced. Most noteworthy being the chemistry between two main characters. Last, but not least, the movie's urge for crowd-pleasing ended the movie on a not so high note. And the ending certainly felt weaker than what I predicted.

So, is it worth watching? It is if you are a Bengali. Because its success will lead to more filmmakers taking risks or being ambitious and the condition of this decaying film industry may improve. If you are a foreigner swayed by the high ratings on its IMDb page, don't watch it.

Overall Aynabaji is a breath of fresh air in Bengali movie scene but only as a source of pure entertainment and nothing beyond. But even a popcorn flick as this comes with a fair share of positives to make one hopeful about the future of Bengali movies. Just don't expect it winning awards anytime soon and don't hype it to be something it's not.

P.S. Sorry for any grammatical errors.l

I have seen this movie thinking that it will be a waste of time. But once the movie started, I had no idea that how it dragged me into the story. Picturization was very realistic. There are small loop holes though, but a viewer will not notice it if seen once. Other than that it was a flaw less script. no where did it feel that something it was abrupt. The story was created as an experienced story teller. Nowhere did I feel that this particular scene was of no use. It had humor, taste of suspense, thrill; in total a perfect package. Truly this movie has raised the bars of bangla cinema. It is not for any specific group of audience rather it is for audience of all ages.

My expression after seeing this movie, as it ended - I just jumped out of my seat and was shouting out "I do wish to see part 2 of this movie...."

Simply a wonderful piece of work.

Movie Review: Aynabaji (আয়নাবাজি)

This was going to be a solid 5-star. Then the ending happened, which is too abrupt at best and too convenient at worst. But let's begin at the beginning, shall we?

If you live in the city, (or if you read the newspaper, or if you don't live in a cave, basically) you won't be surprised with the fact that if you do a crime here, you don't always have to do the time. Money and power, that's what you need, and you can go scot-free. Oh, there's one other thing you need, though. That's Mr. Aayna (Chonchol Chowdhury). Why do you need him? He is only a cook after all, he works in ships. He's simple and he's nice- he even has a drama school for the street children in the neighborhood. But is all really what it seems? Is Aayna really at the sea when he disappears every other month or so? Or is he somewhere else, like, in someone else's life? Is he taking their place, doing their things, being them?

Reporter Saber Something (forgot the last name, played by Partho) is having a bad day, on the other hand. His divorce is final, his news is non-existent since people are shutting their doors on his face, and when he does get a scoop, boss won't hear of it. So he drinks, and his manservant/self-appointed guardian (Jamil from Meerakkel) is literally the only one who cares about him. But a reporter's gotta report, and following Aayna around is bound to give him some proof, right? But it's not as easy as it sounds. Aayna plays his game, and better.

But hey, there's a new babe in the block, so let's focus on that for a sec. Hridi (Nabila) isn't your typical girl-next-door. I mean, she is, but if you are a single bachelor in living in the neighborhood, she'll flirt with you over vegetable carts, bring you cake for no reason and plan a trip to Sylhet with you in a heartbeat even though she knows practically nothing about you. Girlfriend is either really gullible or really stupid. But what she does in the move is raise the stakes- which way would Aayna go? Love and acceptance? Or the biggest gig of his life that's also the biggest risk he'll ever take? Does he really have a choice?

The movie has a fantastic premise, and it works because of its magnificent actor. Chonchol Chowdhury carries this move and he will easily have you in awe. You'll clap at his skills, hoot at his sass and lol at his quips. He is a sympathetic protagonist too. His work is shady and so are his motives- why is he doing this? Money? Escape from his own miserable life? The rush of the game, the playing of a new character? Would you care? Because I think not, and I think in the end you will root for him, as did I and a houseful of people at the first-day-first-show today.

All the other actors were good too. Except Partho wasn't really given a lot to do and Nabila sometimes sounds a little fake. Acting, overall, isn't the problem in the movie. The balance between serious and fun is also perfect.

What is the problem, then? It's the last half-an-hour.

See, the movie isn't very fast paced, and I should warn you right now that if you're looking for masala, you won't find any here. Even the ass-first intro of a girl (it was in the trailer) doesn't result in an item song. The songs play no part in the narrative, all of them are in the background pretty much. And none of that is a problem. A movie can take its time to get going and still keep you hooked. The problem is when you lose the urgency.

The movie is almost over. The net is closing in on Aayna. Can he get out of the mess he's in? Can anyone help him? Can he help himself? Will he listen to reason? You want to find out, but all you're getting is unnecessary scenes with Nabila which is taking up time which could be used to flesh out Aayna's final chapter. And them the climax happens and it's too convenient, too sudden- you might even feel it to be improbable. It's not, really, but it feels that way because it came out of nowhere. I can't stop thinking how much better, cooler, tighter it could be if it were done more slowly, more gradually. You'll be happy it ended that way, but you will also be thinking, 'That was too easy.'

Also, there was some choppy editing in the second half where you can't tell how many days have passed between events.

Aaynabaji is strong enough. It is well-acted, well-directed, well-shot and well-written, except for the climax, maybe. But that's really not reason enough not to watch it. With the kind of movies Dhallywood churns out every year- including movies that try to set themselves apart but falls flat (*coughPodmoPatayJolGangsterReturnsOstitto*cough), this is gold. So be classy and go support a good movie so we can get more of these and less of violence filled bullshit.

4 .25 out of 5 stars.

P.S. There are three cameos. One will make girls happy.

I watched Aynabazi Movie at the Star Cineplex, Dhaka back in 2016. It was the first ever crime thriller movie that I watched in a theater. Later I watched again on TV but didnt get the same flavour like the theatrical experience. I could have been written a long write-up on it, but decide not to give any clearcut spoilers.

I always believe that the core competencies of a person could lead him/her to survive in this cruel world. So, we need to nurture our competencies whatever our situation would be.

Sharafat Karim Ayna (Chanchal Chowdhury) is a person who lives in a small room of an old and shrivelled house in Old Dhaka. He runs a small acting school of children. He aspired to become an actor but the fate decides otherwise. He possesses an enormous skill of METHOD ACTING and in this skill he could morph into any character. Ayna converts himself fully on that particular character as if he is that person in real. He befriends with Hridi (Nabila) who develops soft corner by seeing Ayna's struggling, impoverish life but a kind hearted contribution to the children. Hridi is a kind hearted girl who lives with her father and a house assistant (Akter Hossain). However, Ayna's enormous skill has been recurrently used by the corrupted people of the city to woo laws and people's eye and Ayna, to survive himself in this ruthless city, sacrifices his ethics of being a good man. Crime reporter Saber (Partha Barua) follows Ayna for a long time to reveal the linkage between him and the dark world of the city.

The acting of Chanchal was unparallel. After tremendous success in Monpura (2009), he escalates his standard of acting in a new echelon. If he was performed this Aynabazi performance at any Hollywood movie, he would be flooded by accolades, praises and awards from all over the world. Feeling sad that he is a Bangladeshi actor where he would never get such platform to unleash his true potential. I also praised the performance of Partha Barua, who is a renowned singer of Bangladesh. Though a small screen timing, Nabila performed very well.

The same things of being a small movie industry person, story writer Gousul Alam and the director Amitabh Reza Chowdhury could get more attention if they were in Hollywood. As a crime thriller fan, I expect more stories from Gousul Alam like this. Amitabh Reza is a renowned media person who extends his talent by directing this movie which was his directorial debut.

Music of this film was memorable. Personally I like the song "Dhire Dhire Jao Na Shomoy" by Habib Wahid and Anweshaa. The particular scene of this song, where Nabila stands in the rooftop of a building facing the river buriganga was scintillating. That snap was instantly viral amongst all Bangladeshi people. I have searched on that building and found that building is a private property and not for taking a Personal Photography there.

Aynabazi receives 7 awards at the Bangladesh National Film Awards 2016 which are: Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound Recording and Best Costume Design

Hello everyone. Aynabaji! Best Bengali movie I have ever seen :) Good job Amitav Reza. Smart debut for you! Story, Cinematography and Background musics were awesome! And hats off to Chanchal Chowdhury for his dedication and brilliant performance. Without any doubt, this is a new era for Bengali film industry. Such a brilliant work from Aynabaji team! Good suspense and thriller! Very good art film from Amitav Reza. He has potential to do good works.

Newcomer Nabila was very natural. And this movie deserves some awards

anyway . It was great to see house full Cinema halls again in Bangladesh . Thank you!

Absolutely awesome movie indeed. Oscar wining movie. The movie is so well decorated & well acted well directorate. the film has no bad marks for me & I wish all the very best for the movie. I wish it will win more & more national & international award. The acting of Chanchal Chowdhury is tremendous. The all other people done their job 100%. The beauty of the film is the truth.

I am Bangladeshi but I don't watch bengali movies but this is one of the best movie in Bangladesh!! Must watch 😀

Every characters are so natural 🤠.... Every plots of the movie was awesome...

Not so awesome movie. but if you consider the level of Bengali movies, this movie is just genius

The storyline and the concept of the movie is good but it doesn't deserve to be rated so highly in IMDB. An average movie with good performance.

Just love this film a lot, like how Chanchal Chowdhury shifting his act from one act ot another.

I think it is the best movie in Bangladesh. The performance of Chanchal Chowdhury is mind blowing. I cannot compere it with another Bengali movies.