Bangladesh audiences watch first Indian movie in 50 years

Thousands flocked to cinemas in Dhaka on Friday as Shah Rukh Khan's blockbuster "Pathaan" hit the big screens, the first Bollywood movie to get a full release in Bangladesh in more than half a century.

The action-packed spy thriller smashed box office records when it opened in India in January and the star has a huge fan following around the world. But Dhaka banned films from its neighbour soon after its independence in 1971 in the face of lobbying from local movie-makers. Cinemas used to be a mainstay of Bangladeshi social life.