Language Movement: Lost in celluloid

During the 15 years leading up to our Liberation War, film makers in the country of this region did not just depict the social life, the sadness and happiness of the mass people, rather their vision became the collective aspiration of the nation. They also ignited inspiration for the struggle for freedom through their work. Movies of the time had the essence of social responsibility and consciousness engraved in their stories and making. Although, there is a long list of post-liberation Bangla films based on the Liberation War, surprisingly, the number of films depicting the glorious Language Movement is far less. Most of the films that came out after the Liberation War and independence dealt with stories of the war, the independence, massacre of three million people and huge violation and harassment of womenfolk and loss of property. The list of films depicting the Liberation War include Stop Genocide (1971), Ora Egaro Jon, Aguner poroshmoni, Orunodoyer ognishaksi, Matir Moyna (The Clay Bird, 2002), Muktir Gaan, to name a few. But the number of films based on the Language movement is limited to two: Jibon Theke Neya and Bangla. Pioneering director and martyr Zahir Raihan was the first director to make a movie on the Language Movement. His 1970’s Jibon Theke Neya is a political satire based on the Bengali Language Movement, where an autocratic woman in a family symbolises the political dictatorship of Ayub Khan in East Pakistan. The movie did not just depict the contemporary socio-political scenario but also worked as a vehicle for provoking the emotions of the mass. Other than the storyline itself the songs used in the film where also very significant. In fact, the movie had the Bangladeshi National Anthem incorporated into the storyline. Zahir Raihan tried to make another film on the movement but failed to do so, as the erstwhile Pakistani government did not permit it. Shahidul Islam is the only other director to ever capture the movement in his film. The director’s Bangla was based on renowned author Ahmed Sofa’s novel Ongkar. The movie was released under the banner of Impress Telefilms. The Humayun Faridi, Mahfuz Ahmed and Shabnur starred film’s closing scene, where a sound comes from the mouth of a mute girl, is bound to leave the audience speechless, because the first word that came out of her mouth was the word ‘Bangla’, the name of the only language for which blood was spilled. Some other prominent directors including Amjad Hossain and Chashi Nazrul Islam tried to make movies on the great movement but their attempts failed every time due to lack of funds, as producers thought of it as a lost cause. But if this trend continues, people will gradually start to forget the stories of the great heroes who sacrificed their lives for Bangla, maybe not immediately but certainly someday. We really need to produce more movies on the great Language Movement to keep the future generations in touch with our history. If needed, government agencies should fund qualified scripts. When lack of awareness about the Language Movement should not be blamed on lack of movies alone, there is also no reason why representation in films should not be given the importance it obviously has, particularly now, when perceptions are built and shaped through visual media more than ever.