Supreme Court lawyer Mohammad Mahmudul Hasan Mamun has sparked widespread discussion online after issuing a formal legal notice demanding a ban on romance-centric television dramas and films. While his campaign against romantic storylines has drawn intense backlash from artists and media creators, social media users have quickly turned the spotlight back onto his own digital footprint, revealing a history of sharing personal movie preferences that span across romantic and adult-themed cinema.
According to archived posts retrieved from his personal Facebook timeline, the lawyer has frequently documented his own viewing habits involving international feature films. On 5 August 2025, he publicly shared that he was watching the Indian romantic drama Radhe Shyam. Several months prior, on 9 May 2025, he posted about viewing the Hollywood romantic fantasy adventure Stardust. Beyond mainstream romance, his profile also highlighted the 2012 R-rated political satire comedy The Dictator, for which he shared the official poster alongside the personal remark that it was a marvellous movie. Personal travel photographs, including one standing before the historic Taj Mahal in New Delhi, also surfaced during the digital review.
The resurfacing of these posts has fueled significant debate across various online platforms. Commentators and netizens have openly questioned the consistency of a legal challenge targeting romance in local media when the petitioner himself actively enjoys and promotes similar genres of international entertainment. While many social media users have dismissed the legal directive as an attention-seeking stunt, the lawyer has yet to offer any formal public explanation or response addressing the online criticism regarding his film choices.
The controversy originated from a legal notice dispatched last Thursday in the public interest, targeting the heavy prevalence of romance, extra-marital affairs, and clandestine relationships depicted in domestic entertainment. Addressed to key government functionaries—including the cabinet secretary, the secretary of the ministry of information and broadcasting, the secretary of the ministry of cultural affairs, and the chairman of the Bangladesh Film Censor Board—the filing argues that an overemphasis on romantic plots damages cultural balance and distracts students and youths from their academic and professional development.
The legal document further contends that regular depictions of taboo relationships erode traditional family values and societal ethics, potentially fostering public lawlessness. Citing specific provisions of the national constitution, the notice referenced Article 21 concerning duties towards the state, Article 23 regarding the preservation of national culture, and Article 39 which permits reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech in the interest of public morality and decency.
Alongside demands to restrict romance-heavy productions, the notice urged authorities to issue directives encouraging the creation of educational, scientific, historical, liberation war, and defence-oriented programmes. The formal communication concluded with a strict ten-day deadline for administrative authorities to take tangible action, warning that failure to comply would result in a public interest writ petition being filed directly in the High Court under Article 102 of the constitution.
