Dyuti Monishita charts the history of movies based on the war of independence and talks to filmmakers about the obstacles faced when creating a war movie

The 1971 war of independence was a turning point in many senses. Not just for Bangladeshi lives and for political identity; books, poetry and songs were written, art was created, and countless dreams were dreamt. The tales of war were framed in the magical dimension of celluloid. Films were made during the period of East Pakistan, but as the war was drawing nearer and the cry for a separate identity was rising. People wanted to tell their stories in the medium of cinema, and see living actors relive their own suffering.
   Many films on the liberation war of 1971 have emerged over the years. Yet many filmmakers feel that the larger number of films should have been made on the war. ‘Not a lot of films were made on the war in Bangladesh. In fact, compared to the grandeur of the war, the number of films is very few,’ says Arun Choudhury, a well known writer and director. ‘And the depiction of the war in those films does not uphold the magnitude of the subject matter,’ he continues.
   Of these, one of the most noteworthy films is a documentary called Stop Genocide, directed by Zahir Raihan. Released in 1971, the film focused on the military crackdown on March 25, and contained actual footage of the war crimes and the genocide. ‘The most notable attribute of this film is that there were no hidden messages that the filmmaker was trying to convey to the audience,’ Choudhury comments, ‘the message was loud and clear, stop genocide!’
   He tells how after a few minutes’ interval, the screen fills up with a message saying ‘stop genocide’. Many, who have watched the film during 1971 and later, say that this was the film which grabbed the world’s attention about what was really going on in Bangladesh. Through this film the whole world saw the atrocities Bangladeshis had to endure.
   Ora Egara Jan is a landmark as this was the first ever film made in newly independent Bangladesh. The full-length feature film was released in the year 1972, and more remarkably the cast of the film was not actors, they were real freedom fighters. ‘We wanted to make a film on our revolutionary movement,’ says the director of the film, Chashi Nazrul Islam. ‘During the time of the war, we would think of portraying our struggle, and after the war we ended up doing just that!’ The most prominent and memorable character was played by Kamrul Alam Khan Khasru, who is a revered freedom fighter.
   ‘His contribution in the film and in real life is immense,’ says Chashi Nazrul Islam, ‘he is one of the driving forces behind this film next to me and Masud Parvez, the producer of the film.’ The rest of the cast includes Montu, late Murad, Nantu, Baby and Kazi Firoz Rashid.
   ‘Ora Egara Jan is the first film in the subcontinent to have live war scenes,’ Chashi Nazrul Islam says. ‘All the battle scenes were shot with live bullets. Nothing was fake, not even the explosions. We kept everything real down to the last detail. When Indian film star Raj Kapoor saw it he was astonished beyond comprehension. He had no idea that battle scenes can be shot with live bullets and explosives! But nothing would have been possible if the government did not cooperate. If you see the epic war films that had been made in foreign countries, you will see that those grand battle scenes take thousands and thousands of soldiers and a lot of arms and machineries. These would not have been possible without the help of their respective governments. And we have been very lucky in that respect.’
   Morshedul Islam, director of the short film Agami, explains why it is so difficult to make war films in Bangladesh. He reckons that there is always an anti-independence air in this country. People might think that it is gone but it is still here in the core of everything. He says, ‘There is no clear history about what truly happened during that time. And every film has to go through the censor board, they object to most of the information given in films. So when they finally pass the censor board, the films reflect the ideals of the current government and the history gets distorted.’
   Morshedul also points out that the finance is a central problem. War sequences are very expensive to shoot, and none of us filmmakers have enough funding to make it happen,’ he goes on, ‘there is plenty of talent in our country to make an epic war film, but due to these obstacles, no one is being able to express their full potentials.’
   This observation is shared by a very prominent filmmaker, Tanvir Mokammel. In 1990, his full-length feature Nadir Naam Madhumati was released, but before that Mokammel had to overcome many obstacles. ‘When we started filming it, it took us 6 to 7 years to finish, because of lack of funding and an anti-independence government,’ says Tanvir Mokammel. ‘However, my other film Smriti 71 was completed before this movie, but was held back by the censor board and I have been unable to release it till this very day.’
   Tanvir continues ‘After the completion of both the films we faced resistance from the censor board and after a hard fought trial in the High Court, Nadir Naam Madhumati was finally released two years after its completion. All these incidents are indicative of how the government of that time was anti-independence.’
   He describes Smriti 71 as based on the story of the 17 martyrs leading right up to their death. The film was produced by the National Institute of Mass Media and the students of this institution were also involved in the making. ‘But as I said, the censor board has stopped it from being released. It is very sad that the 35mm film is still in a box and kept somewhere in FDC. Since I am the owner of Nadir Naam Madhumati, I was able to pursue the case in the court and get a court order to release the film. But the owner of Smriti 71 is National Institute of Mass Media, so the government owns it. If the government does not arrange its release, the public will never see it,’ says Tanvir.
   From the year 1971 to 1979, when the patriotic public and political sentiment was at its peak, the number of war films made was high. From then on it dwindled. Then, in the year 1995, the documentary Muktir Gaan, directed by Tareque and Catherine Masud, was released. The plot centres around a group of singers who went from training camp to training camp during the war, singing patriotic songs applauding the freedom fighters’ courage and efforts.
   Muktir Gaan opened the doorway to a new generation of films and filmmakers. One of the prime examples is Joy Jatra, directed by the famous television actor, Tawkir Ahmed.
   ‘This was my first film, I debuted as a filmmaker with Joy Jatra. And I put a lot of hard work and emotion in this film,’ says Ahmed. ‘I was very young when the war took place. If it was physically possible for me then I would have participated in the war. So I decided that I would make films on the war.’
   Joy Jatra received many national and international awards. ‘But the film did not go very well with the general audience; I did not get the response I was hoping for. I’m a bit disheartened. It could have been better made, but I did my best,’ says Tawkir.
   ‘It is very difficult for any filmmaker when their films do not go well with the audience,’ Arun Choudhury agrees. But he also observes that ‘there are a lot of perversions of the truth. Either the films focuses mostly on the love stories that went on during the war or the women raped by the Pakistani military. It is very unfortunate that no epics have been made just yet. It is about time someone does,’ concludes Arun Choudhury.
   ‘It has been a little over three decades since our independence,’ Chashi Nazrul Islam reflects, ‘it might take a few more decades for everyone to come to a greater realisation that our war of independence is the greatest thing that has ever happen to any of us.’
   
   Films based on the war of independence
   Stop Genocide – documentary film directed by Zahir Raihan, 1971
   Liberation Fighters – documentary film directed by Alamgir Kabir, 1971
   Innocent Millions – documentary film directed by Babul Chowdhury¸1971
   A State is Born – documentary film, 1971
   Nine Months to Freedom – documentary film directed by Sukhdeb, 1971
   Ora Egara Jan – directed by Chashi Nazrul Islam, 1972
   Dhire Bahe Meghna – directed by Alamgir Kabir, 1973
   Arunaday Agnisakshi – directed by Subhas Dutta, 1974
   Megher Anek Rong – directed by Harunur Rashid, 1979-1980
   Agami – directed by Morshedul Islam, 1984
   Nadir Naam Madhumati – directed by Tanvir Mokammel, 1990
   Ekatturer Jishu – directed by Nasiruddin Yousuff, 1995
   Aguner Parashmani – directed by Humayun Ahmed, 1995
   Muktir Gaan – directed by Tareque and Catherine Masud, 1995
   Hangor Nadi Grenade – directed by Chashi Nazrul Islam, 1997
   Muktir Katha – documentary film directed by Tareque and Catherine Masud, 1998
   Sharat 71– short film directed by Morshedul Islam, 2000.
   Matir Moina – feature film directed by Tareque and Catherine Masud, 2002
   Shei Rater Kotha Bolte Eshechhi – directed by Kawsar Ahmed Chowdhury, 2004
   Joy Jatra – directed by the eminent television actor, Tawkir Ahmed, 2006
   Shyamal Chhaya – directed by Humayun Ahmed, 2006
   Nishshanga Sharathi – directed by Tanvir Mokammel, 2007
   Shongram – based on the diaries of Khaled Musharraf, directed by Chashi Nazrul Islam
   Megher Pore Megh and Drubotara – based on Rabeya Khatun’s novel, directed by Chashi Nazrul Islam
   Suchana – directed by Morshedul Islam
   Khelaghar – feature film, directed by Morshedul Islam
   Smriti 71 – directed by Tanvir Mokammel, unreleased