India to facilitate making of ‘mega movie’ on Bangabandhu

India today accepted a proposal to facilitate the making of a “mega movie” on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by Bangladesh on his birth centenary.

The two countries have also agreed to jointly produce a documentary on Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 to mark the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence.

The decisions were taken at a meeting in New Delhi between visiting Bangladesh Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu and his Indian counterpart M Venkaiah Naidu this morning.

According to an official statement, Naidu agreed to a proposal made by Hasanul Haq Inu at the meeting to facilitate the production of a “mega movie” by Bangladesh to mark the 100th birth anniversary of its Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2020.

The meeting also discussed the issue of free film trade between the two countries as Naidu asked Bangladesh to consider relaxing the legal provisions which restricted the number of Indian films releasing in Bangladesh.

“Such step would have a positive impact on the local film industry,” he said.

Referring to the joint production of a documentary on the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971, Naidu stated that the archival material available with Films Division of India, India’s state-owned television channel Doordarshan, and other media units would be optimally utilised.

The proposed documentary would commemorate the 50th year of Independence of Bangladesh in the year 2021.

Both sides also agreed to jointly workout a proposal for an agreement for joint audio-visual co-production between the two countries and to organise Film Festival of India in Bangladesh and a Bangladesh Film Festival in India.

The Bangladesh minister also agreed to the request of Naidu to provide the celluloid version of the film “Devdas” directed by Pramatesh Barua in 1935. Bangladesh had earlier provided a DVD version of the film to India.

Collaborative measures would be initiated between National Film Development Corporation of India and Bangladesh Film Development Corporation to promote joint production of films and also between National Film Archives of India and Bangladesh Film Archives for digitisation and archiving, the Indian minister said.

Information dissemination is critical to counter terrorism which is a common issue plaguing both India and Bangladesh, he also said.

“Timely and correct dissemination of information will prevent rumours and falsehood, while at the same time build the spirit of cooperation and understanding between people,” Naidu said.

Naidu conveyed to his Bangladesh counterpart that All India Radio would be launching an exclusive service for Bangladesh and Bengali diaspora titled “Akashvani Maitree” on August 23, 2016. The President of India would be launching the channel which would act as a bridge of amity between the two countries as they would strive to promote the commonality of heritage and culture.

He also offered to train young film makers and entrepreneurs from Bangladesh at the Indian Film and Training Institutes.

Agreements were also made at the meeting on promoting capacity- building and training workshops for media persons, exchange programme for officials associated with information and broadcasting, and exchange of programs between Doordarshan and its counterpart in Bangladesh