Mujib: The Making of a Nation Movie 2023

Introduction

Mujib: The Making of a Nation movie is an upcoming Bollywood-Bangladeshi co-producer biographical drama film director is Shyam Benegal.

It features Arifin Shuvoo as Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, often known as Bangabandhu (literally, “friend of Bengal”), the first president of Bangladesh and the country’s founding father who was assassinated alongside his family following a coup d’état in 1975. This is the first biopic about him that was made by the government.

The movie was made to celebrate Mujib Year. For their roles in this movie, Arifin Shuvoo, Nusrat Imrose Tisha, and Zayed Khan each received just one rupee 1.

The COVID-19 outbreak caused the film’s production to be delayed from its original start date of March 18, 2020, the day after Bangabandhu’s 100th birthday.

Shyam Benegal expressed his joy at being the film’s director and complimented Bangabandhu for being an Indian ally.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Bangabandhu, expressed optimism about the movie in a statement. She expressed confidence that the Shyam Benegal-directed movie will be recognized as a significant moment in Bangladeshi cinema history.

Nitish Roy is the film’s art director. In her capacity as the movie’s costume director, Pia Benegal is in charge of the attire. The Associate Director is Dayal Nihalani. Atul Tiwari and Shama Zaidi collaborated on the film’s writing.

Nujhat Yasmin is the executive producer of it. Mohammad Hossain Jaimy is its line producer. Sadhana Ahmed is the dialogue coach, dialogue writer, and script supervisor for the film. Baharuddin Khelon and Shyam Rawat are in charge of casting.

Cast and Crew of Mujib: The Making of a Nation

• Original title: মুজিব: একটি জাতির রূপকার
• Directer: Shyam Benegal
• Screenplay: Atul Tiwari, Shama Zaidi
• Starring: Arifin Shuvoo, Nusrat Imrose Tisha, Fazlur Rahman Babu, Chanchal Chowdhury, Nusraat Faria, Riaz
• Cinematography: Akashdeep Pandey
• Music: Shantanu Moitra
• Production company: BFDC, NFDCI
• Distributor: Jaaz Multimedia
• Release dates: 13 October 2023 (Bangladesh), 27 October 2023 (India)
• Running time: 178 mins
• Countries: Bangladesh, India
• Languages: Bengali, English, Hindi
• Budget: ৳83 crore

Mujib: The Making of a Nation Movie Trailer

Star Cast of the Mujib: The Making of a Nation Movie

• Arifin Shuvoo as a Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Bangabandhu)
• Dibya Joyti as a younger Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
• Nusrat Imrose Tisha as a Renu (Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib)
• Prarthana Fardin Dighi as a younger Renu
• Jannatul Sumaiya Heme as a Sheikh Hasina
• Nusraat Faria as a younger Sheikh Hasina
• Wania Zarin Anvita as a Sheikh Hasina, between the ages of 8 and 12 years.
• Shahidul Alam Sachchu as a A. K. Fazlul Huq
• Fazlur Rahman Babu as a Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad
• Raisul Islam Asad as a Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani
• Riaz as a Tajuddin Ahmad
• Gazi Rakayet as a Abdul Hamid, Renu’s grandfather
• Abeer Soofi as a Major Ashok Tara (a war hero)
• Tushar Khan as a Manik Mia
• Shatabdi Wadud as a Pakistani Army officer
• Khairul Alam Sabuj as a father of Bangabandhu, Sheikh Lutfar Rahman 65–94 years.
• Chanchal Chowdhury as a Sheikh Lutfar Rahman between the ages of 45 and 65 years
• Dilara Zaman as a mother of Bangabandhu, Sayera Khatun
• Sangeeta Chowdhury as a younger Sayera Khatun
• Tauquir Ahmed as a Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
• Sayem Samad as a Syed Nazrul Islam
• Somu Chowdhury as a Qamaruzzaman
• Khalilur Rahman Quadri as a Mansur Ali
• Khondaker Hafiz as a General MAG Osmani
• Misha Sawdagor as a General Ayub Khan
• Sabila Nur as a Sheikh Rehana
• Samanta Rahman as a younger Sheikh Rehana
• Somnath Chatterjee as a Sheikh Kamal
• Ishrak Turjo as a younger Sheikh Kamal between the ages of 8 and 12 years.
• Touhid as a younger Sheikh Kamal under the age of 5.
• Sharif Siraj as a Sheikh Jamal
• Rokeya Prachy as an old lady
• Siam Ahmed as a Shamsul Huq
• Azizul Hakim as a Abdur Rab Serniabat
• Abul Kalam Azad as a jail guard
• Naziba Bashar as a Sultana Kamal
• Zayed Khan as a General Tikka Khan
• Irfan Sajjad as a Moazzem Hossain
• Ashiul Islam as a Mohiuddin Ahmed
• Elina Shammi as a Khaleda Zia
• Nairuj Sifat as a Parveen Jamal Rosy
• Sabbir Hossain as a Tofail Ahmed
• Mostafizur Nur Imam as a Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani
• Masood Akhtar as a resident of Tungipara
• Jaffna Subaita Hasan as a member of family

Production of Mujib: The Making of a Nation

Background

Up until 2016, a lot of individuals tried to develop a movie based on Bangabandhu’s life, but their effort was unsuccessful. There was a desire for a Bangabandhu biopic to be made as a governmental project even before this movie was made. In 1970, East Pakistani actor Raj stated that a movie titled Bangabandhu will be made on him. In a 1988 interview with the magazine Chitrali, Farooque disclosed his intention to produce a movie on Mujib. India Today stated in 2008 that Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury intended to produce The Poet of Politics, a movie on Bangabandhu.

It was rumoured that Shyam Benegal will be the director and Amitabh Bachchan would play the lead role. The movie, however, never got made. Hollywood-based Vibgyor Films had intended to produce a movie about Bangabandhu in 2010. It was discovered that shooting for the film was expected to begin in 2011. Giasuddin Selim had planned to develop a movie based on Mujib’s autobiography book The Unfinished Memoirs, but he decided against it owing to financial constraints.

The Hasina administration’s intention to produce a biography of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was publicly declared on December 3rd, 2015 by the then-Minister of Cultural Affairs Asaduzzaman Noor. He said that the Prime Minister had reviewed the issue with his ministry and received her approval. Later, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested the idea of a movie on Sheikh Hasina’s father to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She loved the idea he had. The request to support the development of the biographical film of Bangabandhu by the then information minister of Bangladesh, Hasanul Haq Inu, was accepted on August 17, 2016, by Venkaiah Naidu, the then information minister of India.

Sheikh Hasina was there when Narendra Modi made the formal announcement about the collaborative production of the movie on April 8, 2017, at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

Development

In the Indian capital, New Delhi, an agreement was struck on August 27 between the governments of Bangladesh and India. The agreement included the creation of a movie on Bangabandhu as one of its goals. The government of Bangladesh said on March 18 that the film’s preliminary production will begin that year. 19 persons from Bangladesh and India created a film committee to carry out the project. The assistant secretary of the Bangladeshi Ministry of Information served as the committee’s coordinator.

While serving as Information Minister, Hasanul Haq Inu organised various discussions about the biography of Bangabandhu. Participating academics and film filmmakers expressed their support for having any director in the nation helm the movie. Therefore, it was initially determined that Nasiruddin Yousuff would be the film’s director. But when three Indian directors were nominated to helm the film in July 2018, the film committee picked Shyam Benegal as the director. The main character of the movie, in Shyam Benegal’s opinion, was an intriguing figure in his day, hence he accepted the invitation to direct the movie.

On behalf of the Government of Bangladesh, Tarana Halim formally confirmed his appointment as the film’s director on August 27, 2018. A three-person specialist team from Bangladesh was formally confirmed to support the film’s director in 2019. It was determined that the team would consist of a historian, a person who knew Mujib, and a well-known figure in the film industry. Shyam Benegal travelled to Bangladesh on April 1 to meet with Sheikh Hasina and other film professionals to discuss the upcoming movie. At a meeting on May 7 in New Delhi, the estimated 40 crore budget for the movie was decided.

However, it was later discovered through Nuzhat Yeasmin, one of the film’s executive producers, that the budget for this production is 83 crore. Of the budget, Bangladesh has contributed 50 crore and India has contributed 33 crore. The decision to make the movie was made after the Bangladesh group visited India on May 7, 2019, and spoke with the Indians. Sheikh Hasina and the filmmaker spoke during a meeting for the movie on October 6, 2019, in New Delhi. Another agreement pertaining to films was later completed on January 14, 2020. This is a Bengali nationalist film, Shyam Benegal added.

Sheikh Hasina preferred that the movie be made in English, Hindustani, or Urdu. However, Shyam Benegal chose to make the movie in Bengali, which is the official tongue of Bangladesh. Because Benegal does not speak Bengali, he needed interpreters to assist him. Two years later, the title’s formal announcement was made. The name of the movie was chosen by the filmmaker because Mujib has a significant connotation.

Character

It was challenging for Benegal to build Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s character. Mujib valued his family as much as he valued his political beliefs and movements. Additionally, he was a stronger proponent of family values than all the notable figures from the Indian subcontinent. His life is thus shown in this movie from an emotional standpoint. According to the director, Mujib will be depicted fairly in the movie.

Writing

In May 2019 Atul Tiwari intended to travel to Bangladesh as part of his film research. His assistant for research-related tasks was Piplu Khan. On May 19, Atul Tiwari travelled to Bangladesh alongside Shama Zaidi to look into the historical locations for the biopic. Sheikh Hasina provided the director with details on her father’s life as part of the film’s research. She examined the movie screenplay, but she didn’t ask for any significant changes.

Shama Zaidi and Atul Tiwari followed the Gowher Rizvi study report on the movie’s lead character in order to finish the screenplay. The screenwriters gathered data from Bangabandhu’s supporters as part of their study. The film’s script was created by a group of scriptwriters. Members of this committee include Anam Biswas, Gias Uddin Selim, Shihab Shaheen, and Sadhana Ahmed. As a committee advisor, Asaduzzaman Noor helped the members. The film’s screenplay had several minor modifications between February and August 2020.

Casting

The majority of the actors in the movie were all from Bangladesh, thanks to Shyam Benegal. For the film’s casting, auditions took place in Bangladesh and India during January and February 2020. Along with a number of other performers, the tryouts also included Soumya Jyoti, Tariq Anam Khan, Shamima Nazneen, Masuma Rahman Nabila, Jaya Ahsan, and Kaushik Sen. Dilara Zaman’s casting for the movie was decided upon in January, according to a story published in the Bangla Tribune on February 7, 2020. The article further states that the names of Tauquir Ahmed and Fazlur Rahman Babu have been decided upon.

On March 4, 2020, a preliminary list of 50 actors was created for the movie. In choosing the actor for the film’s starring part, Sheikh Hasina’s preferences will take precedence, the Bangla Tribune said. Amitabh Bachchan was the actor she chose for the part. She couldn’t have preferred him during pre-production, though, as Bachchan was then an older actor. For the lead role of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the director stated that he was seeking for a slender actor because he was not overweight as a child. After five rounds of tryouts, 15 performers were chosen to play Bangabandhu, with Arifin Shuvoo being one of them.

Arifin Shuvo was chosen for the lead part because, according to the director, he was the ideal fit, as he stated in an interview. Jyotika Jyoti and Jannatul Sumaiya Himi were first cast as Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib and Sheikh Hasina in the preliminary round, but they were eventually removed. After being chosen to play Sheikh Kamal, Rawnak Hasan was later fired on the day of his contract signing because the director felt he was unfit for the part. In December 2020, Somnath Chatterjee took his post. Although Ferdous Ahmed had been chosen to play Tajuddin Ahmad, Riaz was eventually brought in to fill the part due to a visa-related difficulty.

Due to the inability to begin filming, the production team opted to sign the contract with the chosen actors in September 2021 instead of March 2021 as originally planned. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the second round of casting is conducted online after the first. The casting director Baharuddin Khelon then chose 60 candidates for acting and forwarded the director’s contact information for each. Following deliberation, Benegal selected their names from the list. On November 17, 2021, Irfan Sajjad’s casting as Moazzem Hossain was decided upon. The contract for the part of Tikka Khan was then signed by Zayed Khan on November 22.

Costume

The production crew contacted Bangladeshi costume designers and apparel retailers in December 2019 to acquire a sense of the outfits. Pia Benegal created the film’s costumes. Multiple costume factories in Mumbai Film City produced the outfits for the movie. Research has been done for the movie on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s attire, particularly the Mujib coat. Pia Benegal thought the Mujib coat concept was unique and practical, with the ability to effortlessly alter the collar.

Film Shooting

The film’s initial production timeline was for it to begin just before the 2018 general election in Bangladesh. Then, November 2019 was chosen as the new date. The filmmaker said on May 7th that his crew wanted to wrap up production in 80 days. Later, the deadline was postponed and moved until March 18, 2020. The movie was originally scheduled to be shot inside in Kolkata and outdoors in Bangladesh. On January 21, 2021, in India, the movie’s muhurat, which was shot under the working title Bangabandhu: The Making of a Nation, began production.

The first round of filming was supposed to be finished across the nation in 100 days, and it was on April 4, 2021. It was made aware that the liberation battle scenes will be recorded during the second stage. Due to Cyclone Tauktae and Yaas, as well as the COVID-19 shutdown in India, the film’s filming had to be delayed many times. Beginning on November 20, many movie sequences were filmed in Bangladesh. On November 23, 2021, scenes from the 7 March Speech of Bangabandhu were filmed at the Dhaka College football pitch. A scene from the Bengali language movement was photographed at Madhur Canteen on December 4, 2021.

After 59 days, the second phase’s shooting came to a close. It is known that a total of 960 minutes were captured as draught footage as of April 2022. Samakal reported on September 11, 2022, that the production crew is considering reshooting a few sequences.

Editing and visual effects

Prothom Alo announced in March 2022 that the movie’s post-production had already started. The post-production was supposed to be done in Mumbai. According to Benegal, post-production will probably be finished by June 2022. Several members of the Bangladeshi government’s staff oversaw the movie’s editing. However, the production crew began re-editing the film’s material in May 2022 as a result of the uproar around the trailer.

On the recommendation of the supervisory team, Bangladeshi film professionals will be engaged once the film has been edited. The movie will only be released after being shown to Sheikh Hasina if they do not oppose. Samakal reported on September 11, 2022, that Makuta VFX has been chosen to handle the movie’s visual effects. Hasan Mahmud declared that the movie is prepared for release on September 12, 2022.

Music

The lone song for the movie was composed by Zahid Akbar, who was approached by the production team in 2021. The song’s vocalist and composer was Shantanu Moitra, the movie’s music director, and it was titled Ochin Majhi (literally, “The Unknown Boatman”). It is the first song he has ever performed for a movie.

Influence

Bangladeshis were really curious to find out who will play the film’s lead role. Amitabh Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Boman Irani, Adil Hussain, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Pijush Bandyopadhyay, and Tariq Anam Khan were among the names that were suggested for the lead role. Many actors’ photos were altered by online users such that Bangabandhu’s moustache and hairstyle were perfectly replicated in them before being shared on social media.

Controversies

Director

Even though it was decided to create a movie on Bangabandhu, the news that three Indian directors were being considered to be the movie’s director angered many Bangladeshis. It was criticised by certain well-known Bangladeshi film industry personalities. Gias Uddin Selim, Farooque, Mahmud Didar, and Khizir Hayat were some of the critics. According to Nasiruddin Yousuff, it would have been preferable if the movie’s director was a Bangladeshi.

Both Abul Hayat and Toukir Ahmed expressed support for this. But Shyam Benegal emphasised that Mahatma Gandhi, the founder of the Indian country, was the subject of a foreign-produced biography. Kaushik Ganguly, on the other hand, believes it to be a straightforward issue since Bangabandhu is comparable to Kazi Nazrul Islam, who is both India’s and Bangladesh’s richest man. Syed Borhan Kabir claims that although Benegal was a gifted filmmaker in his youth, it is impossible for him to produce any quality films today.

Casting

Even though Jannatul Sumaiya Heme’s name appeared on the BFDC list, the director left it off of his own list. She took offence at the exclusion of her name without her knowledge. The film’s line producer, Mohammad Hossain Jaimy, said that he did not call Heme since her name was not on the final list he received. Jyotika Jyoti expressed her dissatisfaction on social media, claiming that despite being chosen twice for the position of an actress, she had been fired because of corruption in the Bangladeshi production team.

Jyotika Jyoti said that Shyam Benegal told her that he dropped her after learning that she was preoccupied with other job when he phoned him to inquire as to why he had been terminated. Shuvoo garnered negative feedback once the film’s trailer was released. His lacklustre performance, which the people of Bangladesh could not accept, was portrayed in the trailer. Sohana Saba mocked Shuvoo on Facebook for his performance in response to his justification for the trailer.

Deepak Chowdhury, a columnist, opposed the inclusion of Shuvoo and Tisha in the movie. Syed Borhan Kabir, a columnist, criticized the movie’s casting selections. He specifically lambasted Arifin Shuvoo and said that he was only good for romantic comedies.

Trailer

People’s reactions to the movie’s trailer were divided once it was uploaded. Numerous problems with the group led to criticism. The trailer received criticism from filmmaker Hashibur Reza Kallol.[Reference required] A history professor from the University of Calcutta named Kingshuk Chaterjee, however, suggested that this is typical because both Gandhi and Jinnah faced criticism. Director Shyam Benegal disagrees with criticism of the trailer, claiming that it is improper to form an opinion after viewing just the trailer rather than the complete movie.

Thereforeur Rahman Sohan was behind him.[88] A number of people claimed that the trailer had several historical errors. There was no chance of a historical error in the movie, according to scriptwriter Sadhana Ahmed, who also denied the accusations to The Daily Star. If consumers view this trailer, according to columnist Deepak Chowdhury, they could get disinterested in seeing the movie. Since Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the hero of the Bangladesh Awami League, according to Jawad Antu of Somoy TV, some Bangladeshis have unfairly criticised the movie’s trailer, believing it to be a political party marketing piece. One of the film’s casting directors, Bahauddin Khelon, concurred that the trailer has some issues.

Arifin Shuvoo claimed that the trailer for Mujib isn’t official when people in Bangladesh criticised it. Hasan Mahmud, the nation’s minister of information, refuted it on May 25 while attesting to its legitimacy. A different trailer would be released later, the director stated in an interview on May 26. The trailer was created before the film’s production was finished. Additionally, he wanted it to be known that he preferred the term “teaser” to “movie trailer.” He also hinted to the shortcomings of the caravan.

Release

Marketing

The movie’s trailer premiered on May 19, 2022, at the pavilion designated for India at the Cannes Film Festival. In the pavilion, viewers gave the movie high marks.

Theatrical release

There are plans to release this Bengali movie in both Hindi and English. The item’s first release day was March 17, 2020. The year of its release is then delayed by 1 year and 2 years, respectively, while the day and month remain the same. The National Film Development Corporation of India predicted on May 3, 2022, that the movie would be released in September of that same year, however that date has been postponed because of the controversy surrounding the trailer.

The film’s release date has not been decided, but Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, anticipates it to be released by the end of 2022, he stated on September 6 during Sheikh Hasina’s four-day official visit to India. The film was granted an uncut censor certificate by the Bangladesh Film Censor Board on July 31, 2023. Hasan Mahmud stated that the administration intended to screen the movie across the nation on October 20th, 2023. On the first day of October, it was announced that the movie will be released in Bangladesh on October 13 and India on October 27.

References

• Mujib: The Making of a Nation. (2023, October 1). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mujib:_The_Making_of_a_Nation