Thousands of people came to Dhaka theatres on Friday to see Shah Rukh Khan’s blockbuster Pathaan, the first Bollywood film to have a complete release in Bangladesh in more than a half-century.

When the action-packed spy thriller premiered in India in January, it broke box office records, and the star has a worldwide fan base.

However, Dhaka prohibited films from its neighbour immediately after its independence in 1971, despite urging from local filmmakers.

At a theatre in the nation’s capital, 18-year-old Sazzad Hossain exclaimed, “I am really happy because a Hindi film is being released in Bangladesh for the first time. “All of us love Shah Rukh Khan. I’ll watch Shah Rukh Khan on a big screen for the first time.