Country’s film industry needs to be careful

Big screen movies attract people's attention very quickly. People of all ages, from the youngest to the oldest, follow the public figures of the movie arena or glamour world. As a result, producers always try to introduce a positive message to society through the heroes/heroines starring in big-screen movies and entertaining the audience. But, unfortunately, the drug scandal in present-day Bangladesh has now reached society's criminal level to the public figure. So now the question is, how much are the celebrities of Bangladesh aware of drug prevention?

The film world is so open that any good or bad message in society can be easily conveyed to the people. Audiences love an actor or actress based on their work talent, so after years of experience working in cinema, an actor or actress becomes a public figure/celebrity. In a society, the lifestyle of film actors and actresses is very open, so people from all walks of life can know it. But when a famous actor/actress of the society is involved in a drug scandal, it does not give a good message to the people of the society.

When an actor/actress involved in a drug scandal works in a movie, the quality of that movie also comes into question. Not only that, when everyone in the society, big or small, finds out that their favorite actor/actress is involved in a drug scandal, it is easy to question the personal life of other actors/actresses working in cinema. It is a matter of great sadness that people have little faith in the film world of Bangladesh. One of the reasons for this is the involvement of narcotics with celebrities and the widespread promotion of narcotics.

If an actor/actress involved in narcotics is judged correctly, the anti-drug law will be ensured in society, and this message will easily reach everyone. As a result, people will be less inclined towards narcotics and will respect the law. The work of the actors/actresses' professional life captivates the viewers' minds, just as any misdeed of the personal life of the actors/actresses can quickly spread criminality in society through their followers. This leads to widespread publicity for narcotics or any crime. From now on, Bangladesh needs to be honest about this. Where the film industry of Bangladesh represents the whole of Bangladesh in front of the world, incidents like the drug scandal in the lives of the actors/actresses of this film industry are unfortunate.

At this time, the heroine of one of the most talked-about movies in Bangladesh has been found to be involved in narcotics, and they are the heroine "Pari Mani" and the heroine "Eka". On August 5, 2021, Pari Monir was found to have been involved in narcotics. Not only that, but he has been using narcotics since 2016. As a result, four people, including Pari Mani and Raj, were arrested, said Khandaker Al Moin, Commander of RAB's Legal and Media Wing, at a press conference held at RAB headquarters on Thursday afternoon. Hatirjheel police arrested Dhaka movie star "Eka" on the night of July 3.

Let's find out what the law says to prevent narcotics. According to the "Narcotics Control Act of Bangladesh, 2018" there are restrictions on the issuance of drug prescriptions. E.g., Sub-section 1 of section 12 of the Narcotics Control Act 2018 states that no person other than a doctor can prescribe any drug as a drug. In the same way, Article 9 of this Act states that no substance or plant used in the production or processing of narcotics other than alcohol may be cultivated, produced, processed, transported, or imported and exported. It is further stated in sub-section 1 (b) that such narcotics may not be supplied, marketed, bought, sold, transferred, received, transacted, stored, stored, or displayed. It cannot be consumed or used. There is a provision in the "Narcotics Control Act 2018 " to give maximum punishment to the accused related to narcoticsbased on different levels of narcotics up to the death penalty.

Movie stars/celebrities need to be aware of this. The involvement of the stars of the movie world in the real world of horrible narcotics is being presented as a bad aspect in front of the world. The government should pay special attention to keep the celebrities of the film world away from taking and supplying narcotics and should increase surveillance in this regard. Since people from all walks of life in Bangladesh follow the lifestyle of celebrities in the film world, celebrities should say 'no' to narcotics. This will make people at almost all levels of society aware that "drug/narcotics"-use is an immoral and criminal act.

In my opinion, if celebrities are not thinking about the consequences of narcotics now, then in the future, shooting movies from abroad, or co-produced movies will stop coming with Bangladesh. Because moviemakers in the developed world do not have the desire to work with a celebrity associated with a drug scandal.Such crimes can lead to the collapse of the film business. So, the film industry of Bangladesh, celebrities, producers should pay special attention to this issue. At present, everyone's self-awareness and government initiatives can help in the prevention of narcotics among the celebrities of Bangladesh.
The writer is a student,
Law Department,
North South University