As part of an agreement with India to make a biopic film on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, India has proposed names of three directors: Shyam Benegal, Goutam Ghose and Kaushik Ganguly. However, no one has been selected by Bangladesh as yet.
Representatives of the Bangladesh ministry of information will return to Dhaka, talk to leading figures in government, and select the director.
It’s believed that the director will be finalized in a meeting scheduled to be held at the end of next month between information ministry officials of both countries.
At a meeting held in Delhi between India and Bangladesh, a decision was taken to release the biopic on Mar 17, 2020, to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu.
So, the time available is less than two years. A decision has also been taken to make a documentary on the liberation war with the time limit set at 2021.
The three proposed directors for the Bangabandhu biopic have immense experience and fame. Shyam Benegal, 83, directed a biopic on Netaji Subhash Chabdra Bose, called The Forgotten Hero. He also made a much acclaimed documentary on Indian rail.
Goutam Ghose has directed Indo-Bangla joint production and award winning movie, Padma Nodir Majhi. The youngest of the three, Kaushik Ganguly, 49, made a touching film called Bisorjon, on life near the India Bangladesh border, which won India’s national film award in 2017.
Last year, during prime minister, Sheikh Hasina’s trip to Delhi, an MoU was signed between India and Bangladesh to make a biopic on Bangabandhu and a documentary on the war of independence.
After the director is chosen, selection for actors will begin. Naturally, that will also captivate millions in Bangladesh and India.