‘Jibon Theke Neya', an exposure of authority

As the wife finally was placed behind bars for her misdeeds, her husband uttered these meaningful words, “You committed a mistake. Hitler committed a mistake too.” Just two sentences, but they spoke volumes. This dialogue was from Zahir Raihan’s 'Jibon Theke Neya', the film that indeed spoke volumes.

Cinema at its best captures the essence of a society, its pains and passions, unravels the fabric of life on the screen. It reflects what is happening in contemporary society, its norms, traits and the injustice that prevails. Movies are documentations of contemporary history to be passed on down the generations. Films can be means of protest, reaction to social injustice, or transgressions of statesmen and rulers.

‘Jibon Theke Neya’ meets all these criteria and more.

Bangladesh emerged as an independent country through a bloody nine-month liberation war. During those days leading to the war, during the war and after, a number of films and songs played a significant role, counteracting the injustice of the Pakistani rule and striving for the liberation of Bangladesh.

‘Jibon Theke Neya’ is one of the finest movies, directed by legendary author, director and wordsmith Zahir Raihan. It was made in the backdrop of the 1952 language movement of erstwhile East Pakistan, when the people were demanding that Bangla be recognised as one of the state languages. The film shows the socio-political changes of the time and how those changes were affecting the lives of the people.

The film, at the same time, had a subtle but visible satirical tone that drew a parallel between the turmoil inside a household and the repression by the authoritarian government.

The film was a perfect depiction of the idea that an individual is a nation and a house represents a country.

It was released in 1970 when the entire nation was at loggerheads with the central government of Pakistan. The uproar was being heard and discussed worldwide. The film was like a ‘push’ to the protesting nation, a spark that further inflamed the spirit and struggle for freedom.

Many assume the film to be symbolic. The bunch of keys, over which the family was fighting, was actually the symbol of power or control. The over-dominating elder sister was the symbol of the authoritarian ruler of the regime. The rest of the family was lobotomised by her. Her husband was not allowed to sing inside the house, her brothers were not allowed to marry and she abused the servants day and night. When her brothers married without her consent, she conspired against a sister-in-law and finally tried to kill one of them. The symbol of a perfect dictator.

It was only poetical justice that towards the end of the film when she is placed behind bars, that her husband says, “You committed a mistake. Hitler committed a mistake too.”

‘Jibon Theke Neya’ has not lost its appeal. The relevance is still here.

Much has been said about the arty aspect of ‘Jibon Theke Neya’ and its impact on the society. But there is more.

It is not difficult to discern that the character of the elder sister was a personification of the tyrannical dictator Ayub Khan. No wonder Zahir Raihan had to face obstacles during the shooting of the film and its release of the film. The filming was stopped by the police and later was held up by the censor board. However, he never gave up on his nationalist beliefs.

There is an interesting story about it. The film was stopped by the censor board. Later General Rao Farman Ali watched the film upon the invitation from the film certification board of Pakistan. He finished watching the entire film. Before leaving the screening room, he glared at Zahir Raihan and said, “I let them to approve the film, but I will see to you.”

It is said that Zahir Raihan had to sign an agreement that the film would not flare up any protest after its release.

What if ‘Jibon Theke Neya’ was made in this era, in Bangladesh or in any other country of the world? We are living in a world where the people including many rulers have fragile sentiments. Healthy nationalism is being overridden by extreme nationalism. Rulers and the sycophants are offended for simple reasons, sometimes for nothing. These authoritarian sentiments dictate what one can write or what a filmmaker can show on screen.

Often dictatorial authorities decide who will be affected and how by a particular piece of art. Many must have heard how Russian president Vladimir Putin even recommended taking over charge of rap music to stop protests, sex and use of drugs. He said this following the arrest of popular rapper Husky whose songs are alleged to be performed for ‘extremism’. Government taking charge of music, isn’t it scary?

We see this ‘control’ over arts, music, cinema and books down the ages in the name of nationalism, affecting public sentiment and religion. It reminds us about the ban of the book ‘We’, a dystopian novel by Russian author Yevgeny Zamiyatin after the Russian revolution. It was called by the government as ‘ideologically undesirable’.

This so called ‘ideology’ of the rulers often differs from mass ideology. The rulers with ‘extreme’ sense of nationalism and values flooded the citizens with pleasure and happiness, a hedonism to freeze their sense of freedom and numb their minds.

There is the pleasure of easy and cheap access of internet, modern technologies, social media and so many things to hold their attention and steep them in ignorance. This enforced happiness keeps them restrained from demanding their rights, their rights to speak, to write and seek accountability.

Those who ask for all these rights are treated as ‘traitors’ and sent behind bars. Orwell’s prophecy did not happen in 1984 but there are armies of ‘Big Brothers’ around the world.

We will never know whether Zahir Raihan would end up in jail for his works if he would not have left East Pakistan for India at 70’s. We can only assume.

‘Jibon Theke Neya’, which means ‘Experience from Life’, had a mirror view of contemporary society. The injustice and disparity depicted there has not been abolished, but the context has changed as manifestation. The image is similar worldwide.

Authors are on the run, scholars speaking the truth are targeted by the extreme nationalists and arts are being suppressed and twisted out of shape.

Yet, masterpieces like Zahir Raihan’s ‘Jibon Theke Neya’ or Satyajit Ray’s ‘Heerak Rajar Deshe’ prevail, mocking the government, creating hope for the new generations. These are brave filmmakers, authors and artistes who are strategic enough to convey their messages to the people. They borrow from life to give back to life.

*Farjana Liakat works for Prothom Alo. She can be contacted at [email protected]