28 Best Bangladeshi Films: Classics to Today

Bangladeshi films often arrive with a soft voice and a hard truth. They return to rivers, lanes, and crowded rooms where private life becomes public argument. You’ll feel a mix of satire, song, and social pressure in the same scene. The place does the talking. From the allegorical bite of Jibon Theke Neya to the village satire of Television and the sleek identity games of Aynabaji, the cinema shows how power leaks into everyday choices. Many stories move between city modernity and rural memory, letting landscape shape pace and emotion. The tradition stretches from political parable into tighter realist dramas and confident genre work. That evolution is the fun part.

This ranking helps you navigate Bangladeshi cinema by tone, era, and comfort level, not by trivia. Each entry gives a quick snapshot—year, director, genre, tone, suitability, and an IMDb score—so you can pick what fits tonight. Some picks are warm and melodic, others are slow-burn and observational, and a few are frankly heavy. No guesswork needed. If you’re new, start with the crowd-friendly satires and romances, then step into the more contemplative dramas as your curiosity grows. If you’re a cinephile, treat the list like a ladder: climb for craft, performance, and moral complexity. Along the way, you’ll see Bengali-language cinema working in many registers, from intimate realism to poetic allegory. Press play with confidence.

How we picked Bangladeshi films

We aimed for range across decades, styles, and audience types, including Dhallywood crowd favorites alongside social realism, festival-ready dramas, and political classics. Comfort matters, so we flag war violence, grief, or psychological tension where it could affect mixed households. Only titles with an IMDb rating of 6.5/10 or above were considered, and the ranking climbs from the lowest qualifying score at #28 to the highest at #1. All IMDb ratings in this article were verified on 18 February 2026.

28. Under Construction (2015)

• Actors: Shahana Goswami, Rahul Bose, Mita Chowdhury
• Director: Rubaiyat Hossain
• Genre: drama
• Tone: reflective, quietly tense
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

A stage actress rehearses a demanding new play while her private life begins to wobble. The film tracks her Dhaka routine of work, romance, and the pressure of being watched. It explores agency, reputation, and who gets to define what counts as “respectable”. Small choices sting. Close-up direction keeps the focus on performance, fatigue, and desire in equal measure. The pacing is measured, letting silences and glances do the heavy storytelling. It earns a place in this ranking by capturing modern city strain without turning into melodrama. Best for viewers who like grounded character studies more than plot fireworks.

27. Made in Bangladesh (2019)

• Actors: Rikita Shimu, Novera Rahman, Deepanita Martin
• Director: Rubaiyat Hossain
• Genre: drama
• Tone: grounded, quietly defiant
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.9/10

A young garment worker decides she won’t stay silent about the conditions shaping her life. What follows is a careful portrait of everyday courage rather than a grand hero narrative. It explores labor, dignity, and the risky mechanics of organizing when money is tight. Hope is expensive. The camera stays close to real rooms and real conversations, so tension feels earned. Performances are understated, with empathy even for people who choose comfort over justice. The film belongs on this list because it turns structural issues into gripping personal drama. Best for viewers who want grounded stories with a clear emotional payoff.

26. Shankhachil (2016)

• Actors: Shajbati, Shajol, Prasenjit Chatterjee
• Director: Goutam Ghose
• Genre: drama, romance
• Tone: lyrical, bittersweet
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.0/10

A love story unfolds with rivers, songs, and memory tugging at every decision. Two people reach for tenderness while family and circumstance keep tightening the net. It explores longing, belonging, and the quiet injuries that come from compromise. Soft, but not simple. Landscapes carry meaning, and the film lets faces and pauses speak for themselves. The rhythm is unhurried, inviting you to sit inside the mood rather than chase plot. It stands out in Bangladeshi films for how romance becomes a vehicle for culture without turning didactic. Best for viewers in a reflective mood who can handle a bittersweet finish.

25. Sincerely Yours, Dhaka (2018)

• Actors: Irfan Khan, Nusrat Imrose Tisha, Allen Shubhro
• Director: multiple directors
• Genre: anthology drama
• Tone: intimate, varied
• Suitable for: older teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.0/10

This anthology moves through Dhaka by switching viewpoints, rhythms, and emotional temperatures. One segment feels romantic, another uneasy, another quietly comic in a single breath. It explores city life, loneliness, and the constant negotiation between privacy and public gaze. Dhaka never sits still. Each piece has its own texture, from straightforward realism to sharper confrontation. The pacing stays crisp because the film rarely lingers once a feeling has landed. It earns its place as a modern portrait of urban relationships told in clean, memorable sketches. Best for viewers who like variety and want a film that plays like a curated mixtape.

24. Rehana Maryam Noor (2021)

• Actors: Azmeri Haque Badhon, Afia Jahin Jaima, Kazi Sami Hassan
• Director: Abdullah Mohammad Saad
• Genre: drama, social thriller
• Tone: tense, morally urgent
• Suitable for: adults and mature teens
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

A university lecturer and single mother tries to do the right thing inside a system that punishes honesty. Her days compress into a tightening spiral of meetings, accusations, and quiet compromises. It explores power, credibility, and how institutions can turn procedure into intimidation. Pressure never lets up. The direction stays close to her face, making stress feel physical rather than abstract. The pace is relentless, with suspense built from social consequences, not action scenes. It belongs among Bangladeshi films because it translates a public issue into pure, nerve-tightening drama. Best for viewers who want intensity and moral complexity without sensationalism.

23. No Dorai (2019)

• Actors: Sunerah Binte Kamal, Sariful Razz, Sayed Anowar Hussain
• Director: Taneem Rahman Angshu
• Genre: drama
• Tone: inspiring, windswept
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

A young woman from a coastal community discovers surfing and the freedom it suggests. Her ambition clashes with local expectations, and the film treats that conflict seriously. It explores identity, courage, and the cost of standing out when tradition is the default. The ocean is loud. Training scenes feel earned, and setbacks land with real sting rather than easy uplift. The pacing is energetic but still makes room for family dynamics and consequence. The film earns its ranking by showing empowerment as a daily practice, not a slogan. Best for viewers who want an inspiring story with a realistic edge.

22. A River Called Titas (1973)

• Actors: Rosy Samad, Kaberi Bose, Prabir Mitra
• Director: Ritwik Ghatak
• Genre: epic drama
• Tone: tragic, panoramic
• Suitable for: adults and film students
• IMDb rating: 7.2/10

A fishing community lives by the river’s mood, and the river does not negotiate. Rather than one hero, the film offers a chorus of lives shaped by ritual, loss, and change. It explores belonging, survival, and how modern pressures fracture older ways of living. It’s vast. The story moves in waves, sometimes calm, sometimes overwhelming, always emotionally direct. Tragedy arrives without warning, and the grief can feel elemental and uncomfortably close. It earns a place among Bangladeshi films for its scale and its fierce compassion for people on the margins. Best for patient viewers who want cinema that feels like history carved into landscape.

21. Jaago (2010)

• Actors: Ferdous Ahmed, Fauzia Arfin, Shams Sumon
• Director: Khaijur Rahman
• Genre: drama
• Tone: earnest, hopeful
• Suitable for: families with older kids
• IMDb rating: 7.3/10

A determined teacher tries to keep a village school alive against money, politics, and fatigue. The story turns education into a fight for dignity rather than a feel-good slogan. It explores community responsibility and the way one person’s stubborn hope can spread. Heart on sleeve. The pacing is straightforward, built to stack small wins and setbacks into momentum. Some scenes lean sentimental, but the obstacles are grounded and recognizable. It belongs on the list as an accessible entry point into social themes without gloom. Best for family viewing when you want inspiration with clear stakes.

20. Komola Rocket (2018)

• Actors: Tauquir Ahmed, Mosharraf Karim, Joyraee Arif
• Director: Noor Imran Mithu
• Genre: drama
• Tone: surreal, contemplative
• Suitable for: adults, cinephiles
• IMDb rating: 7.3/10

A riverboat becomes a floating cross-section of Bangladesh, carrying passengers with clashing desires. The film watches them through a poetic lens, sometimes drifting into dream logic. It explores class, masculinity, and power without handing you a single clean conclusion. Strange beauty appears. The pace is unhurried, and atmosphere does as much work as dialogue. Moments feel symbolic, like the boat itself is a moving argument about society. It stands among Bangladeshi films for turning a familiar setting into something politically uncanny and new. Best for viewers who enjoy metaphor, ambiguity, and slow-burn storytelling.

19. The Name of a River (2002)

• Actors: Mohammed Rahman, Abul Pasha, Shampa Reza
• Director: Anup Singh
• Genre: drama
• Tone: meditative, unsettling
• Suitable for: adults and film students
• IMDb rating: 7.4/10

A river journey becomes a landscape of memory, displacement, and quiet dread. The plot is spare, but the emotional undertow is strong and persistent. It explores identity and aftermath through atmosphere more than exposition. Hypnotic and uneasy. The camera leans into faces, water, and silence, inviting you to read between lines. The pacing is slow, and the mood lingers like humidity after the scene ends. It earns its place for showing how national trauma can be expressed obliquely and still hit hard. Best for late-night viewing when you’re open to ambiguity and mood-driven cinema.

Where Bangladeshi films turn quieter and stranger

So far, the list leans accessible, with stories that hook through work, love, and visible stakes. Next comes a stretch where atmosphere and performance take the lead, and Bengali-language cinema starts to sound more like a whisper than a shout. If you like textured images and moral ambiguity, keep climbing from here and enjoy the silences in this art-house drama run. If you prefer clean plots, try these in smaller doses, then reset with something lighter before continuing.

18. Fagun Haway (2019)

• Actors: Siam Ahmed, Sohana Saba, Shabnam Faria
• Director: Toukir Ahmed
• Genre: historical drama
• Tone: passionate, stirring
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 7.5/10

Set around the 1952 Language Movement, the film follows young people pulled into politics and sacrifice. Private relationships are tested by public urgency and the fear of surveillance. It explores voice, identity, and what it costs to insist on dignity in public. It burns slowly. The pacing moves between intimate scenes and moments of collective action that feel earned. Tension is present, but the focus stays on emotion, conviction, and consequence. It belongs among Bangladeshi films because it turns history into character drama rather than distant pageantry. Best for viewers who want a stirring story and can handle political anxiety.

17. Hawa (2022)

• Actors: Chanchal Chowdhury, Nazifa Tushi, Sariful Razz
• Director: Mejbaur Rahman Sumon
• Genre: mystery, drama
• Tone: moody, suspenseful
• Suitable for: older teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.6/10

A fishing trawler returns with a strange passenger and a story that keeps changing shape. The film plays with truth, rumor, and the way a group decides what to believe. It explores desire, guilt, and the pull of myth over ordinary reasoning. Storms gather. The pace is steady, with crescendos that arrive like bad weather at sea. A few moments feel intense, but shock is never the main attraction. It earns its ranking for blending mainstream suspense with an atmosphere that feels genuinely local. Best for viewers who want a mystery that’s moody, not mechanical.

16. Debi (2018)

• Actors: Chanchal Chowdhury, Jaya Ahsan, Iresh Zaker
• Director: Anam Biswas
• Genre: supernatural thriller, drama
• Tone: eerie, controlled
• Suitable for: adults, teens who like mild scares
• IMDb rating: 7.7/10

A skeptical psychologist is drawn into a case that refuses to stay rational. Instead of loud shocks, the film builds unease through behavior, small clues, and suggestion. It explores belief, trauma, and the comfort people find in stories when reality hurts. Creepy, not gory. The pacing is deliberate, letting tension accumulate until ordinary spaces feel unsafe. Performances stay restrained, which makes the supernatural feel closer and stranger. It stands out for proving that controlled genre filmmaking can still be chilling. Best for viewers who enjoy atmospheric thrills and can handle a quietly unsettling tone.

15. Swapnajaal (2018)

• Actors: Yash Rohan, Pori Moni, Fazlur Rahman Babu
• Director: Giasuddin Selim
• Genre: romantic drama
• Tone: nostalgic, tender
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.8/10

Two teenagers fall in love in a riverside town, and sweetness arrives with sharp edges. The film watches desire collide with gossip, control, and economic reality. It explores innocence, shame, and the stories people invent to survive judgment. First love hurts. The rhythm is relaxed, with music and landscape doing part of the emotional work. A few scenes land hard, but the film stays compassionate toward its characters. It earns its place for capturing romance with texture rather than cliché and for keeping consequences honest. Best for viewers in a nostalgic mood who can handle bittersweet turns.

14. Lalon (2004)

• Actors: Raisul Islam Asad, Shami Kaiser, Arifin Shuvoo
• Director: Tanvir Mokammel
• Genre: biographical drama
• Tone: spiritual, reflective
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 7.9/10

This biographical drama explores the life and philosophy surrounding the mystic singer Lalon. Rather than a tidy timeline, it leans into questions of faith and social boundaries. It explores humanism, identity, and the refusal to be boxed in by labels. It feels musical. The pacing is calm, inviting you to sit with ideas and performances instead of chasing plot twists. Scenes often play like debates, but the emotion stays grounded and human. It earns its place on this list for turning spiritual inquiry into cinema that’s accessible and moving. Best for viewers who like reflective storytelling and are curious about cultural roots.

13. Mrittika Maya (2013)

• Actors: Raisul Islam Asad, Titas Zia, Shormy Mala
• Director: Gazi Rakayet
• Genre: drama
• Tone: melancholic, humane
• Suitable for: adults, older teens
• IMDb rating: 8.1/10

An aging potter looks back on his life as family bonds strain and the world shifts around him. The story treats craft as memory made physical, with work revealing what words cannot. It explores regret, inheritance, and the quiet dignity of ordinary endurance. Grief sits nearby. The pacing is patient, letting emotion accumulate through routine and small gestures. Some moments are heavy, but the film avoids manipulation and keeps empathy intact. It belongs in the top half for its compassionate performances and its clear-eyed view of time. Best for viewers who want a slow, human drama that stays with you.

12. Television (2012)

• Actors: Kazi Shahir Huda Rumi, Chanchal Chowdhury, Nusrat Imrose Tisha
• Director: Mostofa Sarwar Farooki
• Genre: satire, drama
• Tone: witty, provocative
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 8.2/10

A village leader bans television, convinced it will corrode values and authority. The rule becomes a comedy of control, hypocrisy, and modernity arriving on foot. It explores faith, power, and the seduction of images with humor that still bites. Very sharp satire. The pacing is lively, and jokes land through character rather than speeches. Tension stays social, not violent, making it easy to watch in mixed company. It earns its spot among Bangladeshi films for capturing a society mid-change with wit and real affection. Best for viewers who want something smart, funny, and quietly provocative.

11. Runway (2010)

• Actors: Fazlul Haque, Rabeya Akter Moni, Ali Ahsan
• Director: Tareque Masud
• Genre: drama
• Tone: gritty, compassionate
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 8.2/10

A teenager drifts through Dhaka’s edges, pulled between family survival and dangerous influence. The film shows how ideology can seduce when daily life offers few doors. It explores poverty, belonging, and the hunger to matter in a crowded city. It’s sobering. The pace is steady, building tension through environment and choice rather than spectacle. A brief content note: the subject matter includes radicalization and emotional despair. It belongs here for its clear-eyed storytelling and for refusing to turn people into caricatures. Best for viewers who want serious drama and can handle a heavy, realistic mood.

10. Guerrilla (2011)

• Actors: Jaya Ahsan, Ferdous Ahmed, Shampa Reza
• Director: Nasiruddin Yousuff
• Genre: historical drama
• Tone: intense, defiant
• Suitable for: adults and mature teens
• IMDb rating: 8.2/10

Set during 1971, the film follows an ordinary woman pushed into extraordinary resistance. Personal loss and collective urgency collide as courage becomes a daily improvisation. It explores sacrifice, betrayal, and survival under occupation. It hits hard. The pacing is dramatic and propulsive, with war scenes that can feel emotionally heavy. A brief content note: violence and trauma are present, though the focus stays on human choices. It earns its place among Bangladeshi films for turning wartime memory into a gripping character story. Best for viewers ready for intensity and a story of defiance.

The late climb into Bangladesh cinema classics

Now the stories widen into memory, migration, and the everyday politics inside families. This is where Liberation War cinema echoes into later decades, sometimes directly and sometimes as a shadow under the dialogue. Notice how humor and domestic detail become tools of resistance, not decoration. For a strong double-bill, pair a heavier wartime film with a lyrical romance to change the emotional temperature.

9. Padma Nadir Majhi (1993)

• Actors: Raisul Islam Asad, Champa, Utpal Dutt
• Director: Goutam Ghose
• Genre: drama
• Tone: sweeping, tragic
• Suitable for: adults and film students
• IMDb rating: 8.2/10

A fisherman’s community is tempted by the promise of a better life on an island utopia. The film watches how hope can be shaped—and exploited—by power, money, and myth. It explores desire, manipulation, and the fragile idea of escape. Haunting and expansive. The pacing gives the river delta room to feel like destiny instead of scenery. Some scenes are bleak, but the portrait remains rich and deeply humane. It belongs here for turning social critique into an epic that stays emotionally intimate. Best for viewers who want a sweeping drama and don’t mind moral darkness.

8. Joyjatra (2004)

• Actors: Bipasha Hayat, Azizul Hakim, Mahfuz Ahmed
• Director: Tauquir Ahmed
• Genre: drama
• Tone: poignant, resilient
• Suitable for: older teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 8.3/10

During 1971, a group of strangers flee by boat toward a safer border. The journey forces them to share fear, hope, and the practical work of staying alive. It explores solidarity, grief, and the quiet heroism of civilians. Deeply moving. The pacing is episodic, letting different characters rise to the foreground as the river moves. War anxiety is present, but humor and tenderness keep the film grounded. It earns its rank for turning national trauma into an ensemble story that feels intimate rather than grandiose. Best for viewers who want emotional resonance with moments of warmth.

7. The Clay Bird (2002)

• Actors: Nurul Islam Bablu, Russell Farazi, Jayanto Chattopadhyay
• Director: Tareque Masud
• Genre: war drama
• Tone: tender, unsettling
• Suitable for: adults and mature teens
• IMDb rating: 8.4/10

A boy is sent to a religious school while his family and country edge toward upheaval. Daily routines slowly become charged with politics, fear, and unanswered questions. It explores childhood, authority, and the cost of ideological certainty. Quietly devastating. The pacing is deliberate, and the emotional impact arrives through accumulation rather than shocks. A brief content note: unrest and violence are part of the backdrop, even when they stay offscreen. It earns a high place among Bangladeshi films as a landmark of intimate storytelling with national stakes. Best for viewers who want a thoughtful film and can handle a heavy historical undertone.

6. Shyamol Chhaya (2004)

• Actors: Meher Afroz Shaon, Riaz, Ahmed Rubel
• Director: Humayun Ahmed
• Genre: war drama
• Tone: somber, suspenseful
• Suitable for: adults and older teens
• IMDb rating: 8.6/10

Twelve passengers travel by boat during wartime, each carrying private grief and fear. The confined space becomes a moral pressure cooker where trust is scarce. It explores survival, suspicion, and what people reveal when danger feels close. Tension builds fast. The pacing is steady, with suspense growing from conversation and uncertainty instead of action set pieces. A brief content note: wartime threat and emotional distress are central to the experience. It earns its rank for turning a simple journey into psychological drama with historical weight. Best for viewers who like suspense driven by character and can handle wartime anxiety.

5. Monpura (2009)

• Actors: Chanchal Chowdhury, Farhana Mili, Fazlur Rahman Babu
• Director: Giasuddin Selim
• Genre: romantic drama
• Tone: soulful, tragic
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 8.8/10

A love story blooms on an island, but fate and class keep pressing their thumbs on the scale. Folk music and rural texture give the romance a lived-in feeling rather than glossy fantasy. It explores devotion, regret, and the cruelty of timing. Bring tissues. The pacing is classical, building to emotional peaks that feel earned. Heartbreak is central, and the sadness can linger after the credits. It earns its high spot among Bangladeshi films for becoming a modern touchstone that made audiences feel deeply. Best for viewers who want catharsis and don’t mind an aching finish.

4. Aynabaji (2016)

• Actors: Chanchal Chowdhury, Masuma Rahman Nabila, Partha Barua
• Director: Amitabh Reza Chowdhury
• Genre: crime thriller
• Tone: sleek, suspenseful
• Suitable for: older teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 8.9/10

A professional impersonator is hired to become other people, and the work begins to swallow his sense of self. The thriller mechanics are sharp, but the film also cares about loneliness and longing. It explores identity, ambition, and moral corrosion beneath the surface cool. Addictive viewing. The pacing is brisk, with turns that keep you leaning forward without relying on gore. Some criminal themes and tension make it better for older viewers. It stands among Bangladeshi films as a turning point for contemporary thrillers with polish and psychological depth. Best for viewers who want suspense with style and a strong central performance.

3. Oggatonama (2016)

• Actors: Fazlur Rahman Babu, Shahiduzzaman Selim, Mosharraf Karim
• Director: Tauquir Ahmed
• Genre: drama
• Tone: tragic, darkly comic
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 8.9/10

An expatriate worker dies abroad, and a bureaucratic mistake sends the wrong coffin back home. The premise becomes a piercing look at labor migration and how the poor get erased. It explores dignity, grief, and bitter irony with a sharp moral gaze. It’s brutal. The pacing moves quickly, using humor to expose cruelty before landing the emotional blow. A brief content note: death and exploitation are handled plainly, so sensitive viewers should be prepared. It earns a near-top rank for fearless social critique and for the way it keeps its characters fully human. Best for adults who can handle dark themes and want cinema that leaves a mark.

2. Aguner Poroshmoni (1994)

• Actors: Bipasha Hayat, Asaduzzaman Noor, Abul Hayat
• Director: Humayun Ahmed
• Genre: war drama
• Tone: intimate, anxious
• Suitable for: older teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 9.1/10

During a 1971 curfew, a household tries to maintain normal life while danger presses from outside. The film focuses on love, fear, and small acts of resistance rather than battlefield spectacle. It explores family bonds, moral courage, and the cost of waiting for news. Suspense hums. The pacing is controlled, with tension growing from what characters cannot say aloud. A brief content note: wartime threat and emotional distress are central, though graphic imagery is limited. It earns its rank for turning national trauma into intimate drama with unforgettable emotional clarity. Best for viewers who want a powerful war-era story in a homebound, human scale.

1. Jibon Theke Neya (1970)

• Actors: Razzak, Suchanda, Shaukat Akbar
• Director: Zahir Raihan
• Genre: political satire, drama
• Tone: bold, allegorical
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 9.3/10

An oppressive sister’s rule over her household becomes a mirror for a nation under authoritarian pressure. The satire is sharp, but the emotion is real, rooted in family friction and simmering revolt. It explores freedom, resistance, and the way politics enters the kitchen. Fear turns domestic. The pacing is classical and theatrical, letting symbols land without losing narrative momentum. Some domestic conflict can feel intense, but humor and clarity keep it accessible. It earns the top spot for its cultural impact and for how powerfully it fuses allegory with lived feeling. Best for viewers who want a foundational classic that still feels alive and urgent.

Conclusion: revisiting Bangladeshi films

The best way to use this list is to treat Bangladeshi films like a set of moods you can return to over time. Start with satire when you want bite, choose romance when you want catharsis, and save the war-era dramas for nights you can sit with heavier emotion. Rewatching reveals patterns—rivers as fate, households as political stages, and humor as a survival tool—alongside newer voices pushing form and pace.

If you want context on preservation and film history, the Library of Congress is a strong place to begin. For sharp, contemporary criticism that can help you articulate what you’re seeing across world cinema, The New York Times film section is a useful companion. Taken together, Dhallywood popularity and the aftershocks of Liberation War cinema show a national screen culture that keeps renewing itself without losing memory.

FAQ about Bangladeshi films