Bangladesh started
producing film regularly since mid-1950s when it was part of Pakistan. Due to
the colonial military rule by the central West Pakistan, there was rise of
Bengali nationalism and people of East Pakistan started revolting. The East did not get the power even
though their political party Bangladesh Awami League got absolute majority in
1970 Pakistan election. The people of East got increasingly agitated and there
was a military crackdown in the midnight of March 25, 1971 and the war started.
Through the resistance of freedom fighters and the diplomatic and military
support from India, Bangladesh got liberated on December 16, 1971 from
Pakistan.
This article selects 20 best films in post-liberation (1972-2000) Bangladesh. The country had a vibrant mainstream film industry in 1970s and 1980s. Since 1990s, the industry started declining due to many internal and external factors. Meanwhile, since the mid-1980s, there was a slow but steady growth of independent cinema which started representing the national cinema of Bangladesh by documenting politics, culture and society, both in fiction and documentary genres and by participating in international festivals. Until mid-1990s, independent films were artisanal in look – short in length and technically ordinary; gradually they started to be more mature – full length in duration and comprehensive in film techniques.
Except one or two, the selection criteria of the following 20 films was the films’ intend to portray the broader culture and society of Bangladesh instead of just telling a good story or entertaining audience or even just experimenting artistically. The themes of the films are diverse and deep rooted in history and culture of Bangladesh as a nation. The films are described here in temporal order. The selection includes 2 documentaries and 18 features that comprise 5 war films, 6 rural based and 3 city centric films and 1 children film. It is also interesting to note that 3 rivers are mentioned in the titles of 3 films and 3 films are set in the coast of Bay of Bengal. This is quite natural that the rivers, the sea, and the boat would be the characters in the films made in Bengal Delta region.
Two films (Palanka [1975] by Rajen Tarafdar and Padma Nadir Majhi [1993] by Goutam Ghosh) might be included in the lists, but those were co-productions between Bangladesh and India and the director is from India. Titas Ekti Nadir Naam by Ritwik Ghatak was also directed by an Indian citizen, but it was solely produced by Bangladesh, hence included in the list. Moreover, Ghatak was born in Bangladesh and lived here until his early youth.
The films are:
1. Ora Egaro Jon (Those Eleven, Chashi
Nazrul Islam, 1972)
1. Arunodoyer Agnisakkhi (In Flames of
Sunrise, Subhas Dutta, 1972)
1. Dhire Bahe Meghna (Quiet Flows the
Meghna, Alamgir Kabir, 1973)
1. Titas Ekti Nadir Naam (A River
Called Titas, 1973)
1. Sujon Sokhi (Khan Ataur Rahman,
1975)
1. Megher Onek Rong (Clod has Many
Colours, Harunor Rashid, 1976)
1. Seemana Periye (Across the Fringe,
Alamgir Kabir, 1977)
1. Golapi Ekhon Traine (The Endless Trail,
Amjad Hossain, 1978)
1. Sareng Bou (Sailor’s Wife, Abdullah-Al-Mamun, 1978)
1. Dumurer Phool (The Unseen Flower,
Subhas Dutta, 1978)
1. Surja Dighal Bari (The Ominous
House, Masihuddin Shaker and Sheikh Niamat Ali, 1979)
1. Rupali Soikote (The Loner, Alamgir
Kabir, 1979)
1. Ghuddi (Syed Salahuddin Zaki, 1980)
1. Emiler Goyenda Bahini (Emil and the
Detectives, Badal Rahman, 1980)
1. Dohon (Affliction, Sheikh Niamat
Ali, 1985)
1. Beder Meye Josna (Gypsy Girl
Josna, Tojammel Haque Bokul, 1989)
1. Chaka (The Wheel, Morshedul Islam,
1993)
1. Muktir Gaan (Song of Freedom,
Tareque and Catherine Masud, 1995)
1. Chitra Nadir Pare (Quiet Flows the River Chitra, Tanvir Mokammel, 1999)
Porobasi Mon Amar (My Migrant Soul, Yasmine Kabir, 2000)
Full article here:
https://asianmoviepulse.com/2020/12/20-best-post-liberation-1972-2000-films-from-bangladesh/?fbclid=IwAR00rQQtHQGvO3sTRgvSwxaHw_H2Fc_X7UL_Tc5kTstRkhhJhDR3Eszxs3U
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