When the Indian media have been spearheading a smear campaign against government led by Muhammad Yunus apparently to serve ousted Awami League, its leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman himself has been portrayed by an Indian drama film in a way that heavily undermined his life-long achievements particularly the independence of Bangladesh.
Nowhere close to his any speech after Bangladesh became independent in 1971, some surprising dialogues have been imposed at the mouth of Mujib calling India and the then India’s prime minister Indira Gandhi the mother of Bangladesh who gave birth to the new country.
Mujib even chanted slogans praising Indira as Mother in the film.
The dialogues full of distortion and falsehood began after 46th minute of the biographical drama film “Emergency” when Mujib is seen addressing a huge rally on the bank of the Brahmaputra soon after Pakistani General AAK Niazi surrendered on 16th December 1971.
“Our motherland Bengal is speaking to me…,” the character Mujib told the gathering.
Soon a girl child asked him “What is she saying, Father?”
In reply, Mujib said: She says “never forget your mother.”
“But my mother was killed during the war,” the girl wept.
Mujib in an emotion chocked voice said: Your mother was not killed. None of us Bengalis have lost our mother…
The Mujib character continued as saying “Our motherland, India, has given birth to Bengal.”
Then he took a turn towards the river and said: “Let us take a vow…As long as the river Brahmaputra flows, as long as we speak Bengali… we will remain grateful to our Mother India.”
“And we will sing praises of Indira Gandhi so loudly that it will be heard in Delhi,” character Mujib said and led a slogan “Praise Mother Indira” which through a jump-cut culminated into the same slogan (“Praise Mother Indira”) chanting crowd in New Delhi.
Critics say this kind of portrayal of Mujib in the movie is another assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
They however mentioned making such false narratives is nothing new for Indian film industry.
“Indian films have been having distortion of Bangladesh’s liberation war history for a long time. The way Bangladesh has been portrayed in this film (Emergency) is part of that distortion attempts,” said Dr. Imran Hossain, Chairman of Department of Television, Film and Photography of the Dhaka University.
“They did it intentionally. Bangladesh Foreign Ministry should lodge protest,” he told TOB.
According to Dr. Imran, they (Indian films) have done it as part of their propaganda. “It undermined courage, struggle and sacrifices of people of Bangladesh,” he said.
“Emergency” is a 2025 Indian Hindi-language historical biographical drama film directed and co-produced by Kangana Ranaut, based on a screenplay by Ritesh Shah and story written by Ranaut.
Based on the Indian Emergency, it stars Ranaut as former prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi.
Netflix is now showing “Emergency” which was released on 17th January this year.