From the kingdom of clay subjects

A scene from `Matir Projar Deshe`
A scene from `Matir Projar Deshe`

At the outset, Matir Projar Deshe (Kingdom of Clay Subjects) reminds one of two other films.

The friends Jamal and Lokkhi bring to mind the siblings Apu-Durga from Satyajit Ray’s Oscar winning Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road), and Anu-Asma from Tareque Masud’s award-winning Matir Moina (The Clay Bird).

Lokkhi is suddenly married off by force and Jamal has to leave the village also with his mother at the the same time. Jamal's mother takes up work as a housemaid and Jamal helps her there. Jamal's studies come to a halt, though he wants to continue with his education. His life becomes disoriented again and the past comes back.

The film is replete with unpredictable twists and turns.

The making of this movie took almost five years. This self-funded 88-minute film of director Bijon Imtiaz and producer Arifur Rahman clinched the best film award in the Chicago South Asian Film Festival 2016.

It has represented Bangladesh in over 20 international film festivals so far.

Mahmudur Anindo and Chinmoyee Gupta excelled in the characters of Jamal and Fatima. The cast also included Sheuly Akhter, Rokeya Prachy, Jayanto Chattopadhyay, Kochi Khandakar, Abdullah Rana, Monir Ahmed and Ramiz Razu.

Ramshreyas Rao and Andrew Wesman deserve credit for their excellent cinematography. The lush greenery of a Rajshahi village served as an enchanting backdrop for the film.

Satyaki Banerjee composed and sang the only song in the movie, 'Kabita', with music composition by Arko Mukherjee. Anish John and Mark Columbus did a good job with the soundtrack.

The film was released in Bangladesh on Friday and is running at the Star Cineplex and Blockbuster Cinemas of Dhaka as well as Upahar in Rajshahi.

Producer Arifur Rahman said they will soon release the movie throughout the rest of the country.

*The report is rewritten in English by Nusrat Nowrin.