For the first time, Delhi will host a festival of Bangladeshi feature films from April 16 to 18 showcasing the works of five directors of the parallel cinema movement of that country.
The three-day festival, to be held at Siri Fort, will screen seven films with English subtitles by five directors including Tareque Masoud and his wife Catherine, Enamul Karim Nirjhor, Mostafa Farouki and veteran actress Kobori who played a lead role in Ritwik Ghatak's "Titas Ekti Nadir Naam" made in 1970s.
The festival, being jointly organised by the Bangladesh High Commission here, the Directorate of Festivals and Information and Broadcasting Ministry, will be inaugurated by
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni.
The cast of all the films to be shown in the festival feature some of the biggest names of Bangladesh TV, theatre and parallel cinema like Kobori, veteran director-actor Subhash Dat, Abul Hayat, Humayun Faridi, Tariq Anam Khan,Jayanta Chattopadhyay and Sarah Zaker, young Tauqir Ahmed,
Rokeya Prachi and Bipasha Hayat.
Tareque Masoud and Catherine are already known names in Indian festival circuits and their films like "Matir Moyna" (Clay Bird) and "Muktir Gaan" (Songs of Freedom) have already been screened and earned critical appreciation.
Apart from "Matir Moyna" which is set in the backdrop of the turbulent period in East Pakistan in late 1960s leading up to Bangladesh's independence in 1971, the coming festival
will screen Tareque and Cahterine-directed "Ontorjatra" (The Inner Journey) which is about the return of a divorced woman and her son from London to Bangladesh after 15 years and their
search for identity.
Another high point of interest of the festival will be to watch how Touqir Ahmed, an accomplished actor, has fared as a director with his "Joyjatra" based on Bangladesh's Liberation
War and "Roopkathar Galpo" (A Fairy Tale).
Kobori's directorial project "Ayna" (Mirror) shows the struggle of a poor woman, helped by a human rights activist, to get justice after she becomes the victim of an acid attack
by a spurned lover.
Besides Kobori, an added attraction of the festival will be the presence of Touqir Ahmed, producer Faridur Reza Sagar who has produced several national and international award-winning films and actor Aupee Karim.
While works of several important directors of Bangladesh parallel cinema like Abdul Jabbar Khan, Fateh Lohani, Zahir Raihan, Alamgir Kabir, Subhash Dat, Sheikh Niyamat Ali, Tanvir Mokammel, Morshedul Islam and Abu Sayeed have not been included in the festival, a beginning will be made by the Bangladesh High Commission by having the first such festival organised in Delhi.