Every year, when February arrives, we grow emotional, join the morning procession and lay flowers at the Shaheed Minar. Yet there are still very few period dramas or research-based historical films strong enough to convey the full history of Ekushey to the new generation.
There have been only three full-length films centred on the immortal Ekushey: ‘Jibon Thekey Neya’, ‘Bangla’ and ‘Fagun Haway’. Before independence, Zahir Raihan planned to make a film titled ‘Ekushey February’, but he was unable to do so as he did not receive permission from the government.
Released in 1970, Jibon Thekey Neya, directed by Zahir Raihan, is not merely a film but a symbol of resistance. During the oppression of the Pakistani dictatorship, Raihan portrayed state authoritarianism through the power struggle within a family. He presented the female head of the household as a symbol of the ruling autocrat. The timeless song ‘Amar Bhaiyer Rokte Rangano Ekushey February’, written by Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury and the scene of the Ekushey probhatpheri were also shown on screen for the first time in this film.
Almost 35 years after independence, the second film based on the Language Movement, Bangla, was made. It was directed by Shahidul Islam Khokon and based on the novel ‘Onkar’ by the renowned writer Ahmed Sofa. The film depicts the social realities of what was then East Bengal and the exploitation carried out by Pakistani collaborators through the life struggle of a speech-impaired girl. Shabnur plays the central character.
In contrast to the largely Dhaka-centric portrayal of the Language Movement, Fagun Haway takes viewers to a small town in 1952. Released in 2019 and directed by Tauqir Ahmed, the film was based on Tito Rahman’s short story ‘Bou Kotha Kao’.
The story shows how an ordinary young man rises in protest when a Pakistani police officer attempts to impose Urdu on Bengali-speaking people, driven by his deep attachment to language and homeland.
The question remains why film productions focusing on a historic chapter such as Ekushey remain so limited.
With proper research, adequate investment and political goodwill, the film industry could produce broader, more multidimensional works of international standard on the Language Movement
