The ongoing dispute within the Bangladesh Film Directors Association has taken a new turn, with filmmaker Reazul Rezu filing a general diary (GD) with Tangail Sadar Police Station, claiming that the decision to expel three directors for life is illegal.
Rezu has also sent a legal notice to director Gazi Mahbub, asking him to provide an explanation within 48 hours. He warned that he is preparing to file a Tk100 crore defamation case if Mahbub fails to respond.
On 4 July, Gazi Mahbub told several media outlets that the Bangladesh Film Directors Association had cancelled the lifetime memberships of three of its members. They are former association general secretary Badiul Alam Khokon, filmmaker and producer Monjurul Islam Megh, and National Film Award-winning director, producer and screenwriter Reazul Rezu.
TIMES of Bangladesh has obtained copies of the GD and legal notice-related documents.
In his GD, Rezu claimed that the expulsion order was completely illegal and that he did not receive any official notice regarding the decision. He named Bangladesh Film Directors Association President Shahin Sumon, General Secretary Shahin Kabir Tutul and member Gazi Mahbub, alleging that the three had made defamatory statements about him in different media outlets due to personal disputes.
In the show-cause notice sent to Gazi Mahbub through Supreme Court lawyer Khondaker Mahbubur Rahman Ripon, Rezu claimed that reports published in different media outlets quoting Mahbub about the expulsion were false, fabricated and misleading.
The notice stated that Rezu had not received any official expulsion order, letter or email from the association in the past 15 days. Therefore, he claimed that the statements made in the media had no legal basis.
The notice further stated that before taking disciplinary action against any member, the person must receive a show-cause notice and be given an opportunity to defend themselves under the law and the organisation’s rules. Rezu claimed that these procedures were not followed in his case.
“An undemocratic and illegal committee has no authority to damage someone’s reputation in this way. I waited for 15 days in case I received any notice, but nobody sent me one. My social and professional reputation has been harmed. Therefore, I am seeking legal remedy,” Rezu said.
The legal notice asked Gazi Mahbub to provide the legal basis and relevant documents behind the expulsion order within 48 hours. It warned that failure to do so would result in a Tk100 crore defamation case against him.
The notice also claimed that several cases over the legality of the current association committee are pending before the court. Rezu argued that the current committee does not have the authority to take such major decisions before the court reaches a verdict.
The notice also raised questions regarding contempt of court and sedition, seeking explanations on those matters as well.
Contacted by TIMES of Bangladesh, Gazi Mahbub said he had not received any notice so far and was unaware of the GD.
Association President Shaheen Suman told TIMES of Bangladesh, “We expelled them according to organisational rules. Now he (Rezu) can file GDs or cases, whatever he wants. We have nothing to say about that.”
The legality of the current Bangladesh Film Directors’ Association committee is already under legal challenge, with several cases pending before the court. The association has faced prolonged organisational and legal disputes, and the expulsion of the three directors followed by Rezu’s GD and legal notice has brought the internal conflict into public view once again.
