The Movie ‘Mujib: The Making of a Nation’

 

Directed by: Celebrated Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal, depicting the life and political odyssey of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The movie was released at over 200 cinema halls in Bangladesh on 13 October, 2023. I watched it at Star Cineplex at Mirpur-1, Dhaka, very close to our house at Mirpur on the same day.

“A Historical Biography – It is a Biographical Film about Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his place in the history of Bangladesh and South Asia.” – Shyam Benegal

First biopic in Bangladesh. A person whom every Bengali has cherished since childhood. From the boy of Tungipara to Mujib bhai and finally Bangabandhu, such an eventful life. I was skeptical about how much an 88-year-old retired Indian director would be able to capture so much difficulties, so much politics, Bengali emotions on screen.

Even at this old age, Shyam Benegal showed eruditeness in construction. He has done the homework needed to tell the stories of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman like a solitary sky-touching world statesman and his inflexible testament of struggles to establish an independent and sovereign homeland for his people in Bangladesh.

The most important thing in a biopic movie is to believe the actor as the person whose biopic you are watching. And credibly establishing the period in which he lived. But when the person was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and since the period was from 1920 to 1975, there was doubt in everyone's mind about how much the technician team and actors could pull off this thing on screen. But Benegal proved his worth utilitarian.

Everyone is great in acting. Most of the characters who had something to do were portrayed appropriately. And if you don't talk about Mujib, it wouldn't have been a movie, Arifin Shuvoo who played the lead role on the shoulders of 90% of the movie was incredible. Especially in the middle-aged acting, he became completely Mujib, the Great.

The supporting characters have also done well. The two who must be mentioned after Shuvoo are Nusrat Imroz Tisha as Renu and Tauqeer Ahmed as Hossain Shahid Suhrawardy. The script of the movie is very strong. There is no place to be bored in such an eventful life.

In this movie, the school life of Bangabandhu, the incident of water falling from the roof of the school in front of the leaders, the life of the unemployed hostel in Kolkata, his marriage, the birth of Sheikh Hasina and Bangabandhu's other children, the language movement of '52, closeness with Suhrawardy, repeated arrests, Dhanmondi's house number thirty-two, the six-point declaration and the anti-Ayub movement, the popular uprising of '69, the elections of '70, the liberation war of 1971, the surrender of the Pakistani hyenas and his return to independent Bangladesh.

At the same time, we can also see the formation of the constitution in the independent country, the election, the formation of BAKSAL, the foreign travel of Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana and finally the death of Bangabandhu in his family on August 15, 1975. The last scene of the movie will make any viewer cry. The song 'Achin Majhi' from the movie also moves the audience in a different way. This is the opinion of almost everyone who has seen the movie. The song is sung by Rathijit. It is written by Zahid Akbar, composed by Shantanu Maitra.

Mujib is the shaper of a race' is the biggest political action film in the history of Bengali cinema. Even after a long time, it is believed that the new generation will get a chance to know many unknowns as such a movie is made about the father of the nation. Much of our history has been distorted since '75. A generation grew up with the wrong history. Many comment that this movie will break their mistake.

Overall, it was a historic ride of 2 hours and 55 minutes at the cinema which has spent time with the audience on the big screen as its own. A three-hour journey is a rare archive for people of all levels of society!

On the screen, I saw the story of an ordinary boy Sheikh Mujibur Rahman becoming a leader, I saw the story of how he became the Bangabandhu of the masses. The exciting story of Bangabandhu's return to the independent country and the heartbreaking story of the death of a great man like him on August 15, 1975 to the misguided people of the country also come up in the movie. We see how an oppressed country and its people turned around and stood up for the motherland at the clarion call of his magnetic leadership. Undoubtedly, it can be said that 'Mujib: The making of a Nation' is a majuscule movie.

This movie is a big canvas story with a lot of big acting artists. Arifin Shuvoo is unique as Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. At one stage of the movie, it seems that he is the real Bangabandhu. Especially during the speech on March 7 isimmaculate. Shuvoo was so perfect I stopped for a moment. Shubvoo's height, attire, dialogue delivery, and body language are amazing.

Besides, Nusrat Imroz Tisha impressed me the most after Shubvoo. Tisha's acting was all natural. Taukeer Ahmed also liked it. Raisul Islam Asad is faultless. Chanchal Chowdhury, Riaz, Fazlur Rahman Babu, Dighi all did well.

I saw several small mistakes in the movie. But those small mistakes didn't affect the whole movie that much. This is the real value.Vox populi in a string of words: Liberation war of 1971, Sheikh Mujib and that period (from 1947-1975), but the movie is worth watching to know many unknown stories.

I wanted to have a beautiful narrative from start to finish. As if everyone's acting is at least to the point where I can at least believe what I am seeing on screen. As if listening to the dialogue doesn't sound like it's just melodramatic talk.

Making a film about the life of a famous person is a very difficult task. Which story to leave which story to tell? Who will make that decision? And when it's someone like Sheikh Mujib, whose whole life matters, the whole thing becomes even more miserable. However, Sheikh Mujib himself has put forward a lot of work here.

In the beginning when we see the young Mujib, I like Arefin Shuvoo. But slowly when Mujib grew up, I started seeing Sheikh Mujib instead of Arefin Shuvoo. I don't remember exactly when it happened, but it was perfectly sorcerous.

Another thing that I really like is the relationship between Sheikh Mujib and his wife Renu. I wanted very much not to show only leader Mujib here. I wanted to see Sheikh Mujib as a son, as a son-in-law, as a father, as a man. And the director Shyam Benegal has done it very well. Especially the relationship between Mujib and Renu has been beauteously limned.

Our generation knows more or less about leader Mujib. But family Sheikh Mujib was something entirely new to many of new generation. Most of my emotions are born out of family Sheikh Mujib stories. Here just as Arefin Shuvoo has given a career defining performance, Nusrat Imroz Tisa as Renu has also given a career specifying performance.

Tisa's role - strong woman was the wife of Bangabandhu and the mother of our Prime Minister. But it is not an easy task. To say that everyone acted very well. And the production of the film is also good, due to which I was wholly engrossed in the story for 3 hours.

The movie highlights the unforgettable role and continuous sacrifice of Bangabandhu in building an independent Bangladesh from the language movement of 1952 to the liberation war of 1971. Even today, we would not have been subjugated or born in a free country if it was not for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman....

While watching the movie, sometimes the hairs on the body will stand up, sometimes the tears will roll down. Especially on the day of August 15, you will be stunned, you will feel helpless, you will feel insulted.But the movie has some miss casting, there are some technical mistakes too. If you skip the topics, you can leave the hall with a complete movie feel. You will also get a taste of a long journey through history.

Every person involved in the movie has made the impossible possible, giving their best every moment. From Shuvoo to senior or junior artists, none of them treated it as 'a movie', I saw everyone treating it as a passion project. 'Mujib' is much bigger than a movie for us.
Love to all the people who were directly or indirectly involved in the making of this grand movie.

And the specialty of cinematography is that most of the shots are one take or long take. I knew something about the shooting, Shyam Benegal always takes all the scenes in one take like a stage play. Even if you cut and change the camera angle or take a shot from the middle of the scene, you have to start from the beginning. Same as before It's his style. However, the simple solution was to use multiple cameras.

Terminus remarks: I will say that those who know Bangabandhu's history like me and many more, his growing up, his politics, his patriotism, his boldness, his statesmanship, his endless struggles to establish our own homeland, et al, the quality of this film will disappoint them, maybe it did me too. Still then, the film literally brought tears to my eyes recalling Mujib, the Great. But for the new generation to know Bangabandhu, to know the story of the birth of a nation, this film is a must watch for everyone.


Anwar A. Khan is a freedom
fighter who writes on politics
and international issues.