Janowar

On 23 April 2020, a police officer arrives at a two-storied residential pink coloured building in a suburb which is the scene of a crime. His fellow police officers brief him on the case. A family including a mother, her two daughters, and son have been found dead in the house. The police officer starts to investigate the crime scene and interview witnesses. The father of the family is away in Malaysia for work. The officer finds three women in the house who start to tell him what has happened. On the night before the birthday of one of the children, Hawarin, a group of robbers broke into the house. The gang started to look for jewellery and other valuables and tied up the family. In an effort to make the robbers leave, the mother cooked a meal for them.

Later in the night, one of the children disclosed that she recognised one of the robbers as a local rickshaw puller. When the robbers discovered this, they tortured, raped, and killed the family to keep their identities secret, slashing the son's throat on their way out of the property. The police officer discovers the boy's body in the washroom and realises that he has been interviewing the victims of the crime. Shocked, he fears for the safety of his wife and calls her to return home urgently.

Cast listing is adopted from the end credit scene of Janowar.

The idea for Janowar was created just after the release of Oxygen, a short film made by the same director. Rafi later directed Poran for the Live Technologies production house, who then signed him for another film with the studio.[5] The screenplay is based on a case of murder and gang rape of four members of a family in Sreepur, Gazipur, which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.[2][4] Rafi wrote the screenplay based on his visit to the original crime scene at Gazipur, interviewing the eyewitnesses, and meeting and talking to the alleged perpetrators detained in Kashimpur central jail.[3] When choosing the cast, those with experience on the stage were actively looked for. 50 child actors auditioned for the role of Hawarin, the youngest daughter, with Ariya Arittra being chosen. The cast rehearsed for three weeks before the starting of principal photography.[3] The set was designed to look like the actual crime scene.[3]

The entire principal photography was done inside a house in Uttara, over 10 consecutive days in August 2020.[7][3] Many scenes were filmed in one-take shots.[3][8] The musical score by Sanu Sandhi was composed after filming was completed. Janowar was announced on the studio's release schedule on 10 September 2020 along with seven other new film projects.[5]

Janowar's promotion was largely limited to hand-drawn posters and a trailer.[9] The film was released on 14 January 2021, on the production company's over-the-top streaming service, Cinematic.[2][6]

• Janowar at IMDb