Film Review: "Mujib - The Making of a Nation: The heart-wrenching climax forces one to think."

Rating: Three stars

Producer: Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) and National Film Development Corporation (NFDC)

Screenwriting: Atul Tiwari and Shama Zaidi

Directed by: Shyam Benegal

Cast: Arifin Shuvu, Nusrat Imroz Tisha, Fazlur Rehman Babu, Chanchal Chaudhary, Nusrat Faria, Riaz, Deepak Antani and Rajit Kapoor

Duration: approximately three hours

Language: Hindi and Bengali

When the country was partitioned in 1947, two countries, Pakistan and East Pakistan, were created in the name of religion, but they were governed by Pakistan only. East Pakistan has natural resources, hence Pakistan used to suppress them by oppressing them. The biggest conflict between these two countries formed in the name of religion was regarding language. Urdu was the national language in Pakistan, which was also imposed on East Pakistan. Whereas the residents of East Pakistan speak the Bengali language. The people of East Pakistan demanded that Bengali should also be the national language along with Urdu. On this issue, the local leader Mujibur Rahman started a movement by forming the 'MuktiVahini' army, as a result of which Pakistan's cycle of repression intensified. Then there was a big war in 1971, when the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi sent the Indian Army to help the MuktiVahini. Pakistan was badly defeated in the war. A new country 'Bangladesh' was born, whose leader was Mujibur Rahman. He also got the status of 'Bangabandhu' and Father of the Nation of Bangladesh. But in 1975, his political opponents and the army jointly overthrew him and not only Mujibur Rahman and his entire family but also his sister's family were killed. Mujibur Rahman's elder and married daughter Sheikh Hasina and younger daughter Rehana were in Germany at that time, hence they were saved. When Sheikh Hasina became the Prime Minister of the country, she thought of making a biopic film of her father and Bangabandhu Mujibur Rahman. Before 2016, many domestic and foreign filmmakers thought of making films but did not succeed. Ultimately, following talks between Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 8 April 2017, in the presence of Sheikh Hasina at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, Narendra Modi officially approved the joint production of the film by India and Bangladesh. Then the responsibility of directing it was given to Shyam Benegal. Now this film made in two languages, Hindi and Bengali, reached theaters on 27 October. The undercurrent of this film is the restlessness that has existed within the people of East Pakistan since the beginning regarding their separate cultural heritage. This is the second film made in collaboration between India and Bangladesh. Earlier, with the cooperation of both countries, Ritwik Ghatak produced the Bengali film 'Titash Ekti Nadir Naam' in the year 1973.

Story:

The film begins with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Arifin Shuvu) returning to his home country i.e. Bangladesh after suffering nine months in jail in Pakistan. He tells his countrymen that his grave was dug in the jail itself. There were preparations to hang him. From there the story moves to his childhood. His marriage with Renu was fixed in his childhood itself. He came into politics during his school days. While studying law in Calcutta, he became more involved in politics. In the 1940s, Mujib's attention fell on the prominent politician Husain Shaheed Suhrawardy (Tauqeer Ahmed). In 1943, Mujib became a member of the Bengal Muslim League. East Pakistan was demanding to make Bengali the national language, which was completely rejected by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Then he opposed it and left the Muslim League. Later, Mujibur Rahman made a six-point demand for the autonomy of East Pakistan. Pakistan refuses to accept his demands and puts him in jail. Mujib, who is often jailed for his rallies against Pakistan, has a valuable ally, Mujib's wife Renu (Nusrat Imroz Tisha), who keeps the family together as well as provides political support. Also gives advice. Mujib's fierce Bangladeshi nationalism culminates in a passionate liberation movement. Many developments happened rapidly. Finally, in 1971, Bangladesh became an independent nation. The residents of Bangladesh gave him the status of Father of Bangladesh and Bangabandhu. Just three years after the liberation of Bangladesh, on 15 August 1975, the army staged a coup and brutally murdered Mujibur Rahman. The military officers did not stop there. They carried out such an orgy of death that they selectively killed Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's family members, not sparing even his wife, his son, his two daughters-in-law, and his ten-year-old son. His two daughters Sheikh Hasina and Rehana survived because they were in Germany at that time. Sheikh Hasina later came to power in Bangladesh by winning the elections.

Review:

Filmmaker Shyam Benegal's specialty has been that he presents historical events from a human perspective, this quality of his is also reflected in this film. This is the reason why there is no fakeness anywhere in the film. There is no melodrama in the film. In the film, along with covering all the historical events of the formation of independent Bangladesh from East Pakistan, the personal and family life of Mujibur Rahman has also been covered. But the script of the film has not been very strong. This 178-minute film certainly covers his entire life journey but does not completely captivate the audience.

There is no mention of the internal situation of Pakistan after the partition of the country in the film. Not only this but how the masters of East Pakistan sitting in Pakistan used to torture East Pakistan, the barbarity that the Pakistani Army inflicted on the people of East Pakistan during the Thirteen Day War was also not depicted properly. Somewhere the entire film seems to avoid presenting Pakistan's rulers and army as enemies. Due to the brutality of the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan, the Indian Army was forced to attack the Pakistani Army on December 3, 1971. There was a need to depict that context in a better way. The film also remains silent on the tension created by India's involvement in the creation of Bangladesh. But here Shyam Benegal missed. The film emphasizes that the campaign for Bangladesh is based on cultural and linguistic concerns rather than religion. The portrayal of politics in a Muslim-majority region that is not based on faith is one of Mujib's strong points. But despite marking so many milestones, somewhere Shyam Bengal and his writing team failed.

The climax of the film is heart-wrenching as well as thought-provoking. Every politician of every country must learn something from the climax and pre-climax of the film. Filmmaker Shyam Benegal, knowingly or unknowingly, talked very lightly about the nature and working style of the leader as soon as he came to power in the film 'Mujib'. The film 'Mujib' is completely made with the money of the governments of two countries, due to which the filmmaker has made the glorious life of Mujibur Rahman inactive. Due to this, the film is boring in many places.

Acting:

Arifin Shuvu has definitely shown the brilliance of his acting in the role of Mujibur Rahman alias Bangabandhu, but he has not been able to fully live up to the role of a complex politician with strong will and unwavering faith. But make-up and costumes helped him a lot in looking like Mujibur Rahman. Shuvu had to work hard to harness the magnetism, vitality, and intelligence that earned his subject the title of “Bangabandhu” (Friend of Bengalis) and “Father of the Nation”. Nusrat Imroz Tisha in the role of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's wife Renu is also an actress and producer of Bangladeshi films. He has left a good impression with his acting in this film. Deepak Antani leaves his impact in the small role of Mahatma Gandhi. The performances of Fazlur Rahman Babu in the role of Khondekar Mushtaq Ahmed, Nusrat Faria in the role of Sheikh Hasina, Rajit Kapoor in the role of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Chanchal Chaudhary in the role of Sheikh Lutfar Rehman, Misha Savadagor in the role of General Ayub Khan, etc. were commendable.

       

- Shantiswarup Tripathi