Bongo releases animation film ‘Bilal’

Popular Bangladeshi streaming platform Bongo released the Bangla-dubbed version of the acclaimed Pakistani animated film ‘Bilal’ yesterday. The film is directed by renowned animation directors Khurram H Alavi and Aiman Jamal.

The main characters of the animated film are voiced by Adewale Ekinnuye-Agbaje, Ian McShane, China Anne McLain and others. Many of the crew members of this movie have worked in famous Hollywood animation films like ‘Shrek’ and ‘Monsters Inc’.

The story’s central characters Bilal and his sister Gufaira are the children of Princess Hamama of Abyssinia. A group of robbers ambushes and kills Princess Hamama, kidnaps teenage Bilal and teenage Gufaira, takes them thousands of miles away in the desert, and later sells them as slaves to an idol merchant.

The animation film is based on the true story of how Bilal proved himself as a fearless warrior of the Islamic Empire and became the first muezzin in the history of Islam.

The film ‘Bilal’ was nominated in the Best Animated Feature Film category at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, one of Asia’s most prestigious film awards. The film was awarded in the ‘Best Inspiring Movie’ category at the Animation Day of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It also won the ‘Best Innovative Movie’ award at the Broadcast Pro Middle East Awards.