Jibon Theke Neya: Cinema that reflects life

In the 1960s, one of the prominent directors of East Bengal was Zahir Raihan. Some of his works include Je Nodi Morupothe (1961) (As an assistant director), Kokhono Asheni (Never Came) (1961), Shonar Kajol (1962) (Associated with Kalim Sharafi), Kancher Deyal (Crystal Wall) (1963), Shangam (1964) (The first Pakistani colour film), Bahana (1965), Behula (1966), Anowara (1967), Dui Bhai (Two Brothers) (1968), Let There be Light (1970) (incomplete) and Taka Ana Paay (1970). However, the most notable piece of Zahir Raihan was Jibon Theke Neya (Story of Life) (1970).

Jibon Theke Neya (1970) is considered as one of the greatest film of Bangladeshi cinema, which had a great influence on Bangladesh Liberation War. In the Pakistani era directors used Rabindra Sangeet hardly in the movies, because of the Pakistani government and the Pakistani sensor board.

But Zahir Raihan used the song Amar Sonar Bangla written by Rabindranath Tagore in Jibon Theke Neya, which later became the national anthem of Bangladesh. The film is a political satire based on the Bengali Language Movement under the rule of Pakistan metaphorically, where an autocratic woman in one family symbolizes the political dictatorship of Ayub Khan in East Pakistan, and stars Shaukat Akbar, Anwar Hossain, Khan Ataur Rahman and Rosy Samad. Jibon Theke Neya has been described as an example of "national cinema", using discrete local traditions to build a representation of the Bangladeshi national identity.