Bangladesh Film Development Corporation and National Film Development Corporation (India)’s Mujib: The Making Of A Nation (dubbed from the Bengali film of the same name; UA) is a biographical film about the life of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh and father of the nation, popularly known as Bangabandhu. As is well-known, he was assassinated with his family during the coup d’état in 1975.
Atul Tiwani and Shama Zaidi have written a fairly interesting screenplay based on real-life incidents, with assistance from a team comprising Anam Biswas, Gias Uddin Selim, Shihab Shaheen and Sadhana Ahmed. The drama is quite engaging but it is also too lengthy and, therefore, gets a bit boring at places. Tiwari and Zaidi have infused emotions too but they could’ve done with more of them. Although the drama is interesting, its appeal to the Indian audience would be limited as the story is about the neighbouring country. Not just that, the appeal also reduces greatly because many of the actors are neither Indian nor well-known for the Hindi film-going audience. The climax has tremendous shock value even though it is documented in history. Atul Tiwari and Shama Zaidi’s dialogues needed to be more punch-packed.
Arifin Shuvoo does an excellent job as Sheikh Mujibur Rehman. He brings the character alive with his realistic portrayal. Nusrat Imrose Tisha is very natural as his wife, Renu (Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib). Tauquir Ahmed lends superb support as Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Raisul Islam Asad has his moments as Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani. Shahidul Alam Sachchu is good as A.K. Fazlul Huq. Fazlur Rahman Babu makes his presence felt in the role of Mostaq Ahmed. Gayasuddin Sheikh is impactful as M.A. Wazed Miah. Tushar Khan is natural as Manik Miah. Nusraat Faria is dignified as Sheikh Hasina. Riaz makes his mark as Tajuddin Ahmad. Sakila Nur is good in the role of Sheikh Rehana. Somnath Chatterjee has his moments as Sheikh Kamal. Sharif Siraj is good as Sheikh Jamal. Rajit Kapur is wonderful as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Rokeya Prachy is very impressive as the old lady. A.K. Azad Setu does well as Ziaur Rahman. Prarthana Fardin Dighi (as young Renu), Wania Zarin Anvita (as young Sheikh Hasina), Deepak Antani (as Mahatma Gandhi), Gazi Rakayet (as Renu’s grandfather), Abeer Soofi (as war hero Major Ashok Tara), Shatabdi Wadud (as the Pakistani army officer), Raajan Modi (as Punjab army chief Payenda Khan), Amit Ghosh (as the Pakistani cop), Khairul Alam Sabuj (as Sheikh Luftar Rahman, father of Mujibur), Chanchal Chowdhury (as Sheikh Luftar Rahman between 45 and 65 years of age), Dilara Zaman (as Sayera Khatun, mother of Sheikh Mujibur), Sangeeta Chowdhury (as younger Sayera Khatun), Dewan Mohammad Saiful Islam Sayem Samad (as Syed Nazrul Islam), Somu Chowdhury (as Qamaruzzaman), Khalilur Rahman Quadri (as Mansur Ali), Khondaker Hafiz (as General MAG Osmani), Misha Sawdagor (as General Ayub Khan), Samanta Rahman (as younger Sheikh Rehana), Ishrak Turjo and Touhid (both as younger Sheikh Kamal), Abul Kalam Azad (as a jail guard), Rohan Roy (as Mujibur’s assassin, S.H.M.B. Noor Chowdhury), Chandra Shekhar Dutta (as Bazlul Huda), Manmeet Singh Sawhney (as Khushwant Singh), and the others provide nice support.
Shyam Benegal’s direction is very good. Shantanu Moitra’s music and Atul Tiwari’s lyrics are in synch with the film’s mood. Akashdeep Pandey’s cinematography is excellent. Sham Kaushal’s action and stunt scenes are realistic. Art direction (by Sukracharyya Ghosh, Vishnu Nishad and Nitish Roy) is superb. Aseem Sinha’s editing is crisp. Dubbing is excellent.
On the whole, Mujib: The Making Of A Nation is a well-made film but its box-office prospects in India are bleak because it is about the history of another nation.
Released on 27-10-’23 at Inox (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Panorama Studios. Publicity: dull. Opening: weak. …….Also released all over. Opening was poor everywhere.