Traditionally, Bangladeshi cinema centered on melodramatic and often tragic romance, heavily influenced by rural settings and folk tales.
: Her relationship with cricketer Rubel Hossain in 2014 caused a major scandal when she filed rape allegations after he allegedly broke a promise of marriage. This eventually led her to completely quit the film industry for a devout religious life. Show more Romantic Storylines in Cinema
For the better part of the 1970s to the 2000s, the dominant romantic storyline was the sacrificial love. Actresses like , Bobita , Kabori Sarwar , and later Moushumi and Purnima were cast as the paragon of virtue. The plot was simple: Hero (often a freedom fighter or a good-natured village boy) falls for the heroine. A villain (a wealthy zamindar or a scheming rival) lusts after her. The heroine endures kidnapping, public shaming, or memory loss, only to be saved by the hero in the climax. Romance was synonymous with suffering.