One of the most-anticipated releases of 2022, "Mujib: The Making of a Nation," helmed by veteran director Shyam Benegal, dropped a rather underwhelming trailer at the Cannes on May 19.
The reception has been mostly negative, with netizens taking umbrage with the lead actors' performances, make-up, visual effects and historical inaccuracies.
Some have also pointed out that the trailer doesn't reflect the total budget of the film, which is reportedly over US $10 million.
Arifin Shuvoo, who played the titular role, was quick to defend his film. "The trailer that everyone saw was specifically prepared for the Cannes in just 13 days. It is not the official trailer as the film is still in post-production and a lot of work is yet to be done."
"The inaccuracies that viewers pointed out will not be in the final trailer, which would be released within a few days. For now, the work on visual effects is ongoing among other things," he added.
Director Shyam Benegal also told The Telegraph, "You cannot pass a comment on a film by seeing a 90-second trailer."
“People around the world will know how Mujib remained unwavering in the face of gallows and how he transformed an unarmed nation into an armed one and led the liberation war. It isn’t easy to capture the whole life of such great people in 3 hours but the team making the movie has done a great work," he said.
The trailer was launched in the Marché du Film Commercial Branch at the Indian pavilion of the Cannes Film Festival.
