NEW DELHI: India and Bangladesh have reiterated the need to strengthen participation in the Film Festivals of both countries, including Children Film festivals, and also cooperate in the areas of films, television, performing arts and theatre.

While noting that retrospectives of the films of actor Uttam Kumar have been held in Dhaka and Chittagong, a meeting of the cultural delegations of the two countries in the capital also announced the start of the joint commemorations of the 150th birth Anniversary of Rabindra Nath Tagore with an opening ceremony on 6 May at Dhaka and 7 May at New Delhi and programmes including Rabindra Sangeet throughout the year.

An Indian delegation will attend the opening in Dhaka. 

It was also noted that Bangladesh participated in the International Film Festival of India at Goa in November 2010. The Golden Peacock award of Rs 4 million was won by the film “Moner Manush”, co-produced by Indian producer Gautam Kundo and Bangladeshi producers Habibur Rahman Khan and Faridur Reza Sagar and directed by Gautam Ghose.

The Indian delegation was led by Culture Secretary Jawhar Sircar and the Bangladesh delegation was led by Suraiya Begum, Secretary in the Bangladesh Ministry of Culture.

The cultural agreement between the two countries first signed in Dhaka in December 1972 covers cooperation in art and culture, mass media including TV, radio, films and press. These objectives have also been realised through the Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) which was signed in January last year for the years 2010-12.

A Bangladesh Film Festival was held in April 2010 in Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi.