Special screening of “Mujib: The Making of a Nation” hosted in London by high commissions

High Commissions of Bangladesh and India in the United Kingdom jointly hosted a special screening of “Mujib: The Making of a Nation” at a prominent theatre in London. The event was organised to celebrate the glorious ‘Month of Victory’ and Bangladesh-India Friendship and was attended by a full house of young British-Bangladeshi and British-Asians.

Members of the British House of Lords, diplomats, British academics and professionals, and mainstream journalists also attended the special screening on Monday evening.

Dr Gowher Rizvi, the former international affairs adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the principal adviser to the biopic, spoke at the event as the chief guest. High Commissioner of Bangladesh to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem and High Commissioner of India to the UK Vikram K. Doraiswami delivered welcome speeches.

Speaking at the event, Dr Gowher Rizvi said, “The movie is a historical document that captures the essence of Bangabandhu’s life story and long struggle”. He mentioned that the internationally acclaimed director of the movie, Shyam Benegal, did an excellent job of keeping the historical content intact while accommodating the long history of Bangabandhu’s life, struggle, and sacrifice for Bangladesh’s independence in a two-and-a-half-hour script.

In her welcome speech, High Commissioner Saida Muna Tasneem thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister of India Sir Narendra Modi for jointly announcing the plan for making the biopic on the life and legacy of Bangabandhu at a programme at Hyderabad House in New Delhi in April 2017.

The High Commissioner said, “This biopic presents the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of a South Asian leader who fought for the independence of Bangladesh and its people. Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen referred to him as ‘Biswabandhu’ – Friend of the World, and the BBC named him the Greatest Bengali of All Time after conducting a global survey in 2004.”

High Commissioner Vikram K. Doraiswami in his speech spoke about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s personal connection and contribution to the film. He said that the Prime Minister put this project in her heart as she wants to be personally associated with the history of which she was a part.

Doraiswami also said that the story of Bangladesh cannot be told without the story of Bangabandhu’s epic struggle; and emphasised the importance of the movie and how it provides an opportunity to learn about the past of Bangladesh and pass on the lessons to future generation