PM asks viewers to consider it mere a film, not reality

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday called on viewers to consider the biopic, ‘Mujib: The Making of A Nation’, mere a film as film and reality cannot be compared.

Responding to a question at the press conference on her recent tour of India at Ganabhaban, the prime minister said, “We cannot bring back the person (The Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) we have lost. We cannot compare a film with the reality and we should not expect that either. So, we must keep an open mind and treat it as a film.”

“The actor (Arifin Shuvoo) who played this role had to work very hard. Creating that character within him and portraying that sentiment on the screen is a difficult task. It is even more difficult when it is the role of the Father of the Nation,” said the prime minister.

“I’ll still say each of the cast members did splendidly and poured out their hearts. A lot of actors couldn’t have pulled this off,” she added.

Ministers and senior leaders of the Awami League also attended the press conference.

After release of the movie’s trailer at Marche du Film segment of the Cannes Film Festival on May 19, it drew mostly negative feedback with criticism aimed towards the performance of the leads, make-up, visual effects, and historical inaccuracies.

Regarding these, the prime minister said, “Bangladeshi audience made some comments about the film’s trailer. Well, if it really was not up to standard then the Cannes film festival in France wouldn’t have shown it. People can make comments about its quality but you have to keep in mind that a prestigious festival like Cannes does not exhibit any sub-standard content.”

Asked whether she had watched the final version of the film and when it will be released, the prime minister said, “I personally feel that people could not accept an actor’s performance of the 7th March speech after watching it delivered from the Father of the Nation himself. We have to keep in mind that this is filmmaking. And in my opinion, I loved whatever they did and they outperformed themselves. They sent a copy of the trailer to me before sending it off to Cannes. I gave them some feedback and they corrected it accordingly and then submitted it.”

“As you all know the film’s production was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The majority of the film was supposed to be shot in Dhaka but due to some technical difficulties, it had to be shot in Mumbai. Still, they did shoot a lot of scenes in Dhaka,” she added.  

She informed that the film is still being finalised and currently being edited. “We have kept a special day in mind to release it. We hope to release it soon when the editing is finally complete.”

The film is an India-Bangladesh co-production on the life of Bangabandhu under the audio-visual co-production agreement between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Bangladesh.

The main cast includes Arifin Shuvoo in the titular role of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Nusrat Imrose Tisha as Rahman’s wife Sheikh Fazilatunnesa, and Nusraat Faria as their daughter Sheikh Hasina. Also, veteran actor Dilara Zaman will play the role of Bangbandhu’s mother Sahera Khatun, actor Khairul Alam Sabuj will portray the role of Bangabandhu’s father Sheikh Lutfor Rahman, Shahidul Alam Sachchu as Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq, Riaz Ahmed as Tajuddin Ahmed, Tauquir Ahmed as Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, Tushar Khan as Tofazzal Hossain Manik Miah, Fazlur Rahman Babu as Khondakar Mostaq Ahmad and Misha Sawdagor as Ayub Khan, among others.