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Chitra Nadir Parey earns critical acclaim in International Festivals

30 August 2004, 18:00 PM
LIFESTYLE
By Pallab Bhattacharya, New Delhi
30 August 2004, 18:00 PM
Director Tanvir Mokammel behind the camera
Eminent Bangladeshi director Tanvir Mokammel's feature filmChitra Nadir Parey finds a place in the list of memorable celluloid recreations of the trauma of the Partition of the Indian sub-continent in a prestigious publication on 'South Asian Cinema'.

Mokammel's work is the only film from Bangladesh that features in the 152-page journal containing write-ups and still photos on films made in the Indian sub-continent on the theme of the Partition. The 152-page publication was released in Mumbai recently on the occasion of the ongoing Asian Film Festival.

Releasing the journal, Govind Nihalani said, that the Partition was not only a geographical division but also the one which led to the partition of the psyche. 'When I was making Tamas, many people had asked why we were digging up old graves. The same question is repeated now. That shows that the wounds have not yet healed,' he said.

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Mokammel's film has earned critical acclaim in international festivals in Delhi and Kolkata.

The journal carries reviews of 14 films from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh that capture the people's sufferings following the Partition. It includes such great works as Ritwik Ghatak's Subarnarekha, M S Sathyu's Garam Hawa, Nemai Ghosh's Chinnamool made in 1951, two films from Pakistan Kartar Singh and Khamosh Paani which won awards at two prestigious international film festivals, Govind Nihalani's tele-serial Tamas, Gadar and 1947the Earth.

Internationally-acclaimed actor Om Puri, who plays a lead role in Tamas, said though the media brought into focus various faces of riots it does not pursue the problem very far and 'gives up very soon as one hot story is quickly replaced by another.'

Meanwhile, another Bangladeshi film--Facing the future by Aminul Islam--tells the story of victims of acid-attacks trying to rebuild their lives The film will be screened at a week-long documentary film festival which began recently. The 'Open Frame 2004' festival, organised by Public Sector Broadcasting Trust with the help of UNESCO, will begin with the screening of Shadows of Freedom by Sabina Kidwai. The film depicts how three Muslim women in India cope with the issues of gender conflict and identity.