Will the film Ora Egarojon be erased from history?

The official poster of the film Ora Egarojon

Unfortunately, the first film on our Liberation War is now in danger of being lost forever, according to Sohel. As he says, 'It is possible that within a few years there will be no copy of Ora Egarojon. The negative I have in my collection is already damaged by 10-20 per cent and I am afraid that I will be unable to preserve it beyond three or four years.' Although there is another copy in the National Film Archive, Sohel thinks that this is endangered by the Archive's obsolete preservation system.

When asked why he had not taken independent steps to preserve the film, such as transforming it in VHS, VCD or DVD formats, he says that these are not the appropriate formats for long-term preservation. 'Once the negative is damaged, the whole thing is gone forever,' he explains. 'And it is not possible to make a standard copy from these versions.' A personal initiative to preserve the negative is not possible, he says, because there are many strict parameters which have to be observed such as temperature, humidity and painstaking care.

Despite blazing a trail with Ora Egarojon, Sohel has not followed up with other films on the Liberation War. He questions, 'How can one make a film on the theme where there is no authentic and unbiased history of our independence?' He also is bitter about the lack of government support to films based on the Liberation War. 'Let alone support, there isn't even any government appreciation of good films. I haven't yet got any recognition from the government for my work. On the contrary, after the change in the political scenario in 1975, the film was unofficially banned for a long time, and these are the awards I have received!' he adds.

Despite the government's reluctance to give credit to filmmakers, Sohel is still open to the idea of making new films on the theme of the War of Liberation. Having donned the role of a freedom fighter himself, he is keen to make more films in this genre.

'I can invest money, can direct the film and of course I dare to present the facts on the screen but a film on war needs more inputs such as infrastructural support and a standard script which I can't accomplish all by myself,' he says. His ambition is to convey the accurate history of our Liberation through celluloid.

The government would do well to save Ora Egarojon from slipping into oblivion through its careless preservation techniques. There is still time to save our precious heritage. "Otherwise we will be letting down the new generation,' Sohel says.