Under
Construction is a film about women made by women. It
is also a critique of contemporary Bangladeshi society in two ways. First, the
story skillfully weaves together an examination of gender relations in
Bangladesh, which is followed with a powerful critique of the exploitation of
labour and the underlying political structures governing it in the country. The
trope linking these two disparate social phenomena is that of construction. The
film looks at and deconstructs how gender is constructed in a conservative,
patriarchal society against a backdrop of urban blight caused by the
over-construction of dwellings in Dhaka. The latter is of particular importance
as the construction industry and the multistory building it produces signify
the deep and lasting changes modernity has on shaping contemporary Dhaka. The
single storey bungalow is disappearing and the social life it supported is now a
thing of history, especially in respect to the role of women. Thus Under Construction has enormous
relevance for our understanding of the changing worldview consumer capitalism
has brought to Bangladesh. This is made abundantly clear in the manner in which
the film deconstructs a classical Bengali play, Tagore’s The Red Oleander. Roya, the
female protagonists seeks to ‘modernise’ the play, which antagonizes some of
friends who revere Tagore while a visitor (someone without deep cultural roots
in Bengali culture) is attracted to the idea. Thus Under Construction is
a multi-layered production that is good to look at but biting in its criticism
of contemporary affairs.
