Shyam Benegal responds to criticism of ‘Mujib: The Making of a Nation’ trailer

Notated Indian film director Shyam Benegal, who directed ‘Mujib: The Making of a Nation’, a biopic on Bangladesh’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has responded to the criticism on trailer of the film.

The 98-second trailer of ‘Mujib: The Making of a Nation’ was launched on the third day of 75th Cannes Festival in France but it drew flak on social media and other platforms.

Cinema lovers expressed dissatisfaction over the acting and the voice of the lead actor Arifin Shuvoo in addition to use of VFX and contradiction to history in the trailer.

In an interview with Indian English daily The Telegraph, director Shyam Benegal responded to the criticism on the trailer of the film

Expressing surprise at reactions on social media, the veteran director pointed out that people had not seen the film yet. “You cannot pass a comment on a film by seeing a 90-second trailer. You can comment on just the trailer.”

Shyam Benegal said, “I just got a message that there have been some comments. It is very difficult for me to guess why they are upset. I will check once I reach office on Monday. The presentation in Cannes went off very well. The Bangladesh information minister and their ambassador were there.”

This is not the first time directed a biopic on historical figures When he made a film on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, titled Bose: The Forgotten Hero, it had taken him to the court because the film showed Bose getting married, a scene that some people had taken to be incorrect and disrespectful.

But in Mujib’s case, Shyam Benegal said he had not foreseen any controversy coming. The film’s trailer describes Bangabandhu as a “devoted family man” and has some scenes of him interacting with family members.

“Bose had left Bengal and went far away from his original family. But Mujib wasn’t alienated from his family. He was very much there except for the period when he was put in prison and taken away to West Pakistan. That’s why I would like to know myself what it (the negative reaction) is about,” he was quoted by the Telegraph as saying.

Shyam Benegal said he was in Dhaka shooting the film and the entire cast was from Bangladesh. “Their pronunciation of some words is different from the Bengali spoken in West Bengal and they pride themselves on their Bengali. All of that is there in the film. That is why I had taken only Bangladesh actors as they would feel much closer to Mujib,” he said.

The star cast of ‘Mujib: The Making of a Nation’ includes Arifin Shuvoo as Bangabandhu, Nusrat Imroz Tisha as Bangabandhu’s wife Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, Nusrat Faria as Sheikh Hasina and Riaz Ahmed as Tajuddin Ahmed. Chanchal Chowdhury, Fazlur Rahman Babu, Raisul Islam Asad, Siam Ahmed, Tauquir Ahmed are among cast acting in the film.

Atul Tiwari and Shama Zaidi wrote the film script.