My guru, K.A. Abbas who was 83 was still writing and was busy directing his film “Ek Aadmi” which was an autobiographical film with Anupam Kher playing his life. He had three heart attacks when he was dubbing for the film, but collapsed and was rushed to the nearest hospital in a place called Irla from where he came back in a comatose condition and never recovered. Dr. V. Shantaram was directing “Jhaanjar” with Padmini Kolhapure and his grandson Siddharth Ray when he was 86 and fell in the bathroom and was rushed to Bombay Hospital where he never returned alive. Sohrab Modi, the lion of Indian cinema had started a new film called “Guru Dakshina” when he was 87 and had performed the mahurat of the film at Mehboob Studios with Padmini Kolhapure, but that was the last that was heard about the film because the “lion” died just a few days after launching the film. The well-known poet and actor Harinderanath Chattopadhyay launched his first film “Kismet” with Shabana Azmi in the lead role, but he was playing it too risky as he was 88 and was keeping unwell and as many expected he couldn"t complete even one-fourth of the film. And what about Dev Anand? He kept making films whether they stopped or succeeded till the very end until he was 86 and died of a heart attack in a five-star hotel in London… But to Shyam Benegal goes the entire credit of starting and making a biographical film on the life and times of Sheikh Mujib Ur Rehman, the founder of Bangladesh and also its first Prime Minister who was brutally assassinated in Dacca, the very capital of Bangladesh. Shyam who has made cinematic history by making films like “Ankur”, “Bhoomika”, “Nishant”, “Mandi”, “Junoon”, “Kalyug”, “Discovery of India” and other memorable films always wanted to make a film on the life and times of the great freedom fighter of Bangladesh. He finally got both the governments of India and Bangladesh to agree on financing the film and it was only when the deal was signed that he asked his writers Atul Tiwari and Shama Zaidi to go ahead. It was decided to have all the actors from Bangladesh and Afrini Shoovo, a noted Bangladeshi actor was chosen to play Mujib and all the other actors were also from Bangladesh. Shyam Benegal must have been aware that this could be his last film and so he worked day and night in spite of his age and all his health issues and was able to complete the marathon film in a shorter time than expected. Shyam was also helped by the fact that his technical team was all from India. Shantanu Moitra was the music composer, Sham Kaushal was the action coordinator, Nitesh Roy was the production designer and Dayal Nihalani was the associate director. Most of the film was shot on locations in Bangladesh and parts of it on sets erected in Bombay and Calcutta. And last but not least, Shyam"s film had the complete support of the present Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Mrs. Sheikh Haseena, and the government of India headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The film, if all goes well is scheduled to release all over the world in the next few months. KYA 87 KE UMAR MEIN SHYAM BABU EK DESH KI ITIHAAS KO PHIR SE ZINDA KAR PAAYENGE? Read also: NTR Jr. Calls Bheem's Re-Intro in RRR 'The Greatest Heroic Jump' Sana Raees Khan speaks on Atul Subhash suicide case! Nivedita Basu Hosts a Grand Christmas Party at Luft in the Air Fans Demand Arjun Bijlani & Karan Kundra's Jodi Back on Laughter Chefs