Matritto faces censor's scissors

Humayun Faridee: A sensitive portrayal as a protagonist

Zahid Hossain, script-writer, director and producer of Matritto, accompanied by Hassan Imman--one of the co-producers, and other invited guests, held a press conference in this regard at the VIP Lounge of the National Press Club recently. Speakers included filmmaker Manzare Hassin, film critic Muztoba Zaman, one of the cast members from Matritto Shahidul Alam Sachchu, popular singer Selim Chowdhury and others. The speakers unanimously voiced a protest against the decision of BFCB.

After Zahid submitted Matritto to BFCB for censor clearance, the organisation issued a letter declaring that the film can be shown publicly only after three particular sequences are cut out. One of the scenes presents actress Moushumi, who plays the protagonist of the film, Sakhina, breast-feeding a child. The two other sequences have dialogues, which, BFCB assumes have elements contrary to the country's sovereignty.

Let us now look into the story of Matritto. As the name suggests, the film is based on the theme of motherhood--a precious aspect of any woman's life. The film centres round a rural mother named Sakhina, who has to undergo tremendous physical and mental sufferings before she can actually experience motherhood.

Sakhina is married to a village thief named Jabbar. She tries hard to rectify her husband, played by Humayun Faridee, and bring him back to a normal life. But Jabbar simply will not correct himself. He even forces Sakhina to have her baby aborted. This leads the poor mother into a painful mental disorder simultaneously with immense physical suffering in her mammary glands.

At such a moment, Sakhina is seen to nurse a newborn child whose mother has died and who is suffering almost to death. This gives the child its life as well as gives Sakhina a taste of motherhood she has long craved for.

Set in the mid-1960s when mass dissatisfaction was growing among the Bangalis regarding the then West Pakistan regime, the film also projects the socio-political scenario of the time.

One scene shows a youth hoisting the national flag of Pakistan on top of a tree under the supervision of the Morol (head) of the village. The opportunist village-head directs the youth to tie the flag even higher so that it can be seen from as far as the police station where some Pakistani officials are coming to visit. Another scene has two characters conversing on the 'conspiracy' of dividing Pakistan.

The Censor board has raised objections about these scenes.

Zahid Hossain argued regarding the two latter scenes that the international award winning film of Sheikh Niyamat Ali and Masihuddin Shaker, Shurjo Dighal Bari, also has a scene that shows hoisting of Pakistani flag. Historically this is a part of the greater reality that many people at that time tried to prove themselves loyal to the existing regime--some did so in order to attract favour, and some to save their lives. There is no escaping from these truths. 'Censoring these two scenes would greatly hamper the socio-political balance of the story', said Zahid.

Regarding the first objection, Zahid claims that the scene where Moushumi is seen breast-feeding a child is 'an essential part of the aesthetic beauty' of his film. It cannot be considered 'obscene' since 'the scene is a mid-long shot, not a close one', argues Zahid. 'Moreover, the scene has been shot in the dark light of lanterns rather than the bright floodlights in which all the obscene sequences of commercial films are shot', he says. To cut this part out will jeopardise the total appeal of the film which is, as he describes, 'the result of my honest 25-year's involvement with the film movement of the country.'

Zahid complains that the BFCB members are not honest enough regarding their responsibilities. 'One of the members, who is a university teacher, did not even show up at the technical screening of the film despite my request', he informs. Moreover, BFCB sent the objection-letter containing one wrongly quoted dialogue that it ordered to be censored, which, Zahid claims, 'proves their inattentive mind during the technical show of films.' BFCB, however, corrected the mistake in its second letter.

Zahid has submitted his film to the Appeal Division of BFCB for review and hopes that the board will release his film 'uncut'.