Ora Egaro Jon
Chashi Nazrul Islam left home at a young age and went to Bombay to become a cinema hero. In his early years, his only dream was the glamour world of cinema. However, it is his destiny that earned him a reputation, not as an actor, but as a film director.
 |
| Ora Egaro Jon Bangla Movie |
Chashi Nazrul Islam directed the first ever film on the Liberation War of Bangladesh entitled Ora Egaro Jon. Produced in 1972, the movie narrates the story of 11 valiant freedom fighters and their struggles against the Pakistani occupation forces. The mass killings on the night of 26 March, the atrocities of the Pakistani occupation army and their local collaborators and the sacrifices the women folks made during the nine-month long liberation war have also been highlighted in the movie.
Today as part of the Victory Day special, daily sun brings its readers to Chashi Nazrul Islam, as the renowned director of the country has shared the story of making the film Ora Egaro Jon, his life and works and more.
“I am fond of war movies. Since 1961, I have been a regular viewer of movies like The Cranes Are Flying, Two Women, The Longest Day, The Fall of Berlin. Sometimes I enjoyed such movies with my friends and I thought about how such movies were made featuring so much devastation, action and actual war like scenarios,” said Chashi Nazrul.
“These war movies had a big impact on me and I started dreaming of making a war movie in future,” he added.
“When the Liberation War began in 1971, I said to myself that if I could outlive the war, I will make a movie based on the Liberation War of Bangladesh which will tell the true story of the war,” Chashi continued.
“The war finally ended on 16 December with the surrender of the Pakistani occupation forces. On 19 December, I went to actor Koshru, the then student leader and freedom fighter. I met up with him at Iqbal Hall (now Sgt. Zahurul Haq Hall) and told him about my desire to make a movie on the 1971 Liberation War,” he added.
“Khosru agreed instantly and it made me happy. But making a movie needs a lot of money,” said Chashi.
“The name of Star Film Corporation Ltd, which was a leading film production and distribution company of the time, popped up in my mind. The company owned 11 cinema halls,” he continued.
“One day I, along with Khosru, Murad and Kazi Feroz Rashid, went to the managing director of the company, Iftekhar Alam and talked to him. We let him know our desire for making a film on the Liberation War,” Chashi said.
 |
| Ora Egaro Jon Bangla Movie Scene |
“Iftikhar Alam took us to Sher Ali Ramji, the chairman of the company. Ramji was quite hesitant to invest in the venture. But finally, he gave us money without asking us anything. We told him that we were not law breakers and we were simply there to acquire funds for a movie on the Liberation War and we wanted Star Film Corporation Ltd to be our distributor,” he added.
“Upon hearing our plans, Ramjee agreed happily and an agreement was signed. As most of us were required to be present at the shooting spot, we selected Masud Parvez to take the money on our behalf. So, he signed the agreement on our behalf as the producer of the film. Back then, none of us actually planned who will play what role.” said Chashi.
“When it came to naming the movie, I drew inspiration from the Egaro Dofa Movement of Chharta Shongram Parishad and our liberation war which was fought in 11 sectors. So, I came up with a name which had the number eleven in it — Ora Egaro Jon,” he said.
“We needed 11 freedom fighters for the movie. As Koshu was a freedom fighter himself, he did not took long time to find the crew. We began the shooting of the movie on 21 February, 1972,” he informed.
Even though Ora Egaron Jon was made in 1972, till date, the war scenes in the movie remain some of the best ever shots in a Bangladeshi movie.
“As I regularly watched foreign war movies, I always had in mind to direct a movie like The Cranes Are Flying. The movies influenced me a lot,” Chashi said.
“We used live ammunition and firearms for shooting of the film. Everything was real. Back then, as the war had just ended, firearms were available. As we all were young freedom fighters, we paid little attention to the risks associated with using of live ammunition in shooting.” he said.
“After Ora Egaro Jon, I made Shangram to feature the contributions of the members of the armed forces in the Liberation War. Later, I made movies such as Kamalpurer Juddho, Hangor Nadi Grenade, depicting the contributions of women in the Liberation War, Megher Pore Megh and Drubhatara. Till date I have directed six movies on the Liberation War.”
Ora Egaro Jon contains real footages of the war. Chashi said, “The footages were taken during the war by a friend of mine who worked as a cameraman with an international news agency. He provided me with the footages during the making of the film.”
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete