We made the documentary from our patriotism: Syed Ashik Rahman

The documentary 'Political Life of Bangabandhu and Emergence of Bangladesh' produced by Syed Ashik Rahman has won the National Film Award 2020 in the category of Best Documentary Film. The documentary has already been screened in various countries around the world, including Turkey and USA. It has been screened at the district and upazila level on the occasion of Bangabandhu's birth centenary and 50th anniversary of independence throughout 2021 at the initiative of Bangladesh Film Archive and Star Cineplex. Our correspondent talks to Syed Ashik Rahman, Producer of the documentary, Director of Bengal Multimedia Limited and the CEO of RTV about the context of the documentary film.

Q: How does it feel to get the best award for this extraordinary documentary?

Answer: Of course it is a matter of joy and pride to get national recognition. We made this documentary on the political life of Bangabandhu from our love for Bangabandhu and Bangladesh. This award has further enhanced our motivation.

Q: From what desire or plan did you decide to make this documentary?

A: On December 16, 2019, we announced that we would make a documentary on “Political life of Bangabandhu and Emergence of Bangladesh” under the banner of Bengal Multimedia to celebrate Sheikh Mujib's birth centenary and the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence on our own funds. The documentary was completed in 2020 and received censorship on September 21, 2020. The documentary was researched, written and directed by Syed Shabab Ali Arzoo. It may be mentioned here that in 2015 we had a 40 minute documentary about Bangabandhu 'Mrittunjoyi Pran', in 2017 'Prekkhapot 7 March' based on Bangabandhu's historic 7th March speech, in 2018 on the occasion of Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's birthday 'Nondito Netri Sheikh Hasina' and in 2019 On the occasion of Bangamata Under-19 International Women's Gold Cup, we made 09 sub-documentaries on 'Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib' under the banner of RTV. It is to be noted that these documentaries were also made by Syed Shabab Ali Arzoo.

Question: How was it possible to highlight the whole political life of Bangabandhu in just 2 hours and 27 minutes?

Answer: In this documentary, the colorful and varied political life of Bangabandhu has been shown in seven episodes. Bangabandhu's rising period (1920-1947), Bangabandhu's entry into national politics (1948-1954), Bangabandhu's Emergence period (1955-1963), independence movement and mass revolt period (1963-1969), Historic election period (1970), Independence and liberation war period (1971) , Return to homeland, World Leader and his death (1971-1975). As the political life of Bangabandhu has come up in detail in the documentary, so has the unforgettable contribution of the governments and people of different countries of the world in the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. At the same time, various activities for and against international politics around Bangladesh have also been highlighted. We believe that the documentary made with English subtitles is playing a big role in effectively presenting Bangabandhu and Bangladesh to the world. The documentary has already been screened at various festivals, cinema halls and various universities in the country and abroad. It gets huge response from the audience for its research, editing and rare footage.

Q: What role do you think this documentary will play for the next generation?

A: The next generation will build a prosperous future for the country. And the main source of inspiration in front of them is Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation. I think the next generation will be able to know a lot of unknown and undisputed information about the Emergence of Bangladesh from the way Bangabandhu's political life came up through this documentary. This is the underlying power of this documentary.

Q: As successful producer your film “Jodi Ekdin” and “Sapludu” won the National Film Awards 2019 in two categories, Janmabhumi won international award and was screened at the UN headquarters, what do you think the Bangladeshi film industry should look like in upcoming days?

A: I think the biggest crisis in our industry right now is efficiency, creativity and originality. The technical skills that our audiences are getting acquainted with in the modern world are so far better than us. There is also widespread apathy in the field of creativity. The way someone shoots a scene in the context of a story, others try to follow same way. Innovation is not seen at all in the case of presentation. The crisis of originality has also appeared in an extreme way. The basis of our story is chosen in the form of the stories of others in other countries rather than our realities of life and family social context. As a result, after watching a movie for a while, the audience faced these three crises and turned away. Bengal Multimedia decides to make every film with these issues in mind. But in order to move an industry forward, it is important to take effective initiatives in this regard, not just a production company but also film organizations and government initiatives.

Q: What else are you planning to do with documentaries and movies in upcoming days?

Answer: We have selected a number of other subjects based on the history and heritage of our country on which there is not much work to be done. Our team has already started working on the cultural structures. In making of a film we are working with a predominance of creative basic storytelling. Because we believe that when the people of Bangladesh will be able to watch the film with their families that day it will become the film of Bangladesh.