‘Mujib – The Making of a Nation’ trailer released at Cannes

Cannes:  A 90-second trailer of the much-awaited ‘Mujib– The Making of a Nation’, an India -Bangladesh co-production feature film directed by Shyam Benegal, was released at the Cannes film festival today. Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur and his Bangladeshi counterpart Hasan Mahmud jointly released the trailer of the feature film based on the life of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Addressing the audience on the occasion, Minister Thakur said the movie, while being a co-production of India and Bangladesh, was an initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The movie is a gift on the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Shekh Mujibur Rahman ji”, he said. Elaborating on making of the movie, Thakur said that when the world was going through a challenging time during the Covid pandemic, work on the movie went on. He cited the movie as an example of good unneighborly ties. Through the movie, the two countries complement each other’s work, he said and thanked both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for taking this initiative, an official statement said. Anurag Thakur said this year being the 75th anniversary of India’s independence and India being the Country of Honour at Marche du Film, there could be no better opportunity to release the trailer and put the friendship of India and Bangladesh on display. He thanked the Bangladesh delegation for attending the ceremony. Dr Hasan Mahmud, in his address, said that the movie was based on the struggle, suffering and making of a nation by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He said that Bangladesh- India ties have touched new highs under the leadership of the two Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi. “The movie is a demonstration of the strength and depth of relationship between the two countries”, Dr Mahmud added. He thanked the people of India for supporting the independence war of Bangladesh in 1971. “The people of India in 1971 opened not only their borders but also their hearts when millions of people fled from Bangladesh to India”. Speaking about the movie, Dr Mahmud said, “It isn’t easy to capture the whole life of such great people in three hours but the team making the movie has done a great work.” Delivering his message in a recorded message, director Shyam Benegal, said that, “The trailer is out and I hope the audiences will appreciate it. It was an absolutely marvellous journey working for this film as I got an opportunity to work with the artists and technicians from both the nations. I am thankful to the Ministries from India & Bangladesh for their overwhelming support.” Apurva Chandra, Secretary Information of Broadcasting, India, Ambassador of India to the Republic of France Jawed Ashraf, Ambassador of Bangladesh to France Khondker Mohammad Talha along with cast of the movie were present at the occasion. ‘Mujib – The Making of a Nation’ is directed by Shyam Benegal. The Co-production Agreement for the film was signed on January 14, 2020 between two Executive Producers – NFDC and Film Development Corporation (FDC), Bangladesh. The Ministry of Information Broadcasting, Govt. of India and the Ministry of Information Broadcasting, Govt. of Bangladesh are producers of the film. The total budget of the film is over USD 10 million (INR 75 Crores) shared in the ratio of 40:60 by India and Bangladesh respectively. The film is a tribute to the great leader on his birth centennial and to mark the 50 years of Bangladesh’s formation.