The debut feature by director and lead actor Phaim Bhuiyan is partly autobiographical. A twenty-something character by the same name lives in Rome with his immigrant family. He tries to be a model son, brother and Muslim, although he doesn’t personally agree with many of the rules followed by his family. One day he meets attractive, brave and liberated Asia and falls for her. They start to date on regular basis, but it remains a secret—especially from Phaim’s parents, who prefer that their son marry a Bengalese woman. The young man faces a series of dilemmas: premarital sex is considered a sin in his faith, and there are huge cultural differences between himself and the girl. Bangla is a fresh take on the romcom formula, updating it with topical and relevant ethnic, racial and religious themes. This funny and clever love story about a young man torn between two worlds is full of spot-on social commentary and observations about being the child of immigrants.