Tell us something about yourself

I am an Economist by profession and a documentary filmmaker by passion. I am presently pursuing my doctoral studies in Economics at the University of Western Australia while holding my positions as the founder and director of Finding Bangladesh, a faculty member (on study leave) at BRAC University and as a consultant for the World Bank. Besides that, I love writing poetry and travelling, especially to ancient historical locations.

Could you share the journey of 'Finding Bangladesh' and what inspired you to make this project?

During my school days, I used to write for The Rising Stars supplement of The Daily Star, the counterpart of what is now the Shout supplement. We had conducted this survey back in 2007, where we asked college students 10 basic questions about the 1971 Liberation War. I was shocked with the survey findings. 34% of roughly 600 students couldn't differentiate between Victory Day and Independence Day of Bangladesh. I couldn't fathom why these two distinct historical events were being jumbled up? More importantly, it really questioned my view of what we were really learning about history in schools. Majority of the younger generations seemed to be unaware of the history and cultural values of Bangladesh. It's good to be global citizens; you should definitely not be centric to Bangladesh only. In fact, I am probably the last person who will say that nationalistic values are the best values out there. But at the same time, you do have a responsibility to represent your country.

I wrote a few articles about our findings but then I felt that this didn't have enough impact. It's very temporary for masses; you read it and then a transient amnesia strikes. That's when we decided to make a documentary with fun and engaging content with the younger generations in mind. The documentaries which were being aired on the topic at that time were boring; anyone would fall asleep after seeing it for 10 minutes. We wanted to change that. Also, since other people were already working on 1971 and 1952, we wanted to focus on the ancient histories, mythologies and legends that have contributed to shaping the culture of and have become a part of present-day Bangladesh. That is when Finding Bangladesh began.

How did you get into documentary film-making from being a student of economics?

It was thoroughly a process of 'learning by doing.' I started learning filmmaking to shoot for Finding Bangladesh, making multiple mistakes and facing stumbles along the process, internalizing them for gradual improvements with the journey. The icons who had the most influence in my approach to filmmaking are Ron Fricke, the director and cinematographer of Samsara (2011), a stunningly gorgeous documentary film, and Matthew Libatique, the cinematographer of Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000) and Black Swan (2010), who works regularly with Darren Aronofsky. I wanted the historical locations and mythologies in Bangladesher Harano Golpo, Finding Bangladesh's latest documentary film, to be the centerpiece as opposed to a person or a traveler guiding you through the journey. The stories are much larger than any single person or any single idea can encapsulate, and the challenge was to capture the essence of the existence of these historical narratives, to bring out the latency of their life. That takes a very different cinematographic approach. That, combined with trying to keep the film fun and engaging for a younger generation, required the meshing of two very distinct approaches. Thus, what you find in Bangladesher Harano Golpo is a combination of a very flow based, minimalistic approach by Ron Fricke and the fast-paced rhythms of Matthew Libatique. It certainly was experimental for me, and I will not say that we pulled it off flawlessly, but to an extent where two approaches absurdly complement each other.

Do you prefer direction over teaching? Which are you more passionate about?

I do not consider myself a professional filmmaker, but I am a passionate researcher. I believe that shows through in the film – the main strength of Bangladesher Harano Golpo are its stories. This is our way of giving back the voice to old forgotten tales. Each of the featured stories can easily be made into their own movie – so I consider Bangladesher Harano Golpo sort of like a crash course on our histories, mythologies and legends.

Could you tell our readers about your most recent film 'Bangladesher Harano Golpo'?

Finding Bangladesh's most recent film, Bangladesher Harano Golpo, which I had the privilege of directing, is an 80-minute long documentary film that portrays 11 stories from 17 historical locations across the south of Bangladesh. Let me first ask you this: how many mythologies and legends are you aware of that originated in the lands of Bangladesh? Bangladesher Harano Golpo, I guarantee you, will certainly expand your views on Bangladesh's ancient stories. The brilliant saga of Raja Pratapaditya, one of the legendary Baro Bhuiyans, the journeys of Khan Jahan Ali, the legends of Gazi, Kalu, Chompaboti, and the mythologies of the Makara, Bon Bibi and Kamini are covered in this film. Stories from Jessore's Jora Shiv Temples and the Abhayanagar 11 Shiv Temples, Shyamnagar's Ishwaripur Rajbari and Damrail Navaratna Temple, Bagerhat's Ajodhya Temple and the Shat Gombuj Mosque, Baro Bazaar, Dhopadi Temple, Pirojpur's Rayerkathi Palace and Temples, the ghost stories of Krittipasha Palace, and Kuakata's Misri Para Budda Vihara are also featured. While it makes little sense just listing the stories, I welcome you to watch the film as soon as it is made publicly available, to get a grand exposure to these tales.

Why do you think it is important to make films on Bangladesh's rich heritages and monuments?

We have a rich heritage that we should be proud of; terrific mysteries of man and monster, majestic monuments and wonders. But many of these glorious historical sites are gradually decaying due to lack of preservation and their magnificent stories are being lost forever. Films can immortalize these decaying and lost tales unlike any other medium. That is why it is absolutely essential to do so. If anything, these films will inspire generations to go out by themselves, to explore and know more about our country. That is the ultimate aim – to revive lost tales of our land and help us in being more sentient of ourselves – our identity. Many in our younger generations have grown up knowing about post-colonial political and western histories, about Roman legends and Greek mythologies from films – but what about stories of our own?

Do you think the new generation lacks the knowledge of ancestral histories, mythologies and legends of Bangladesh?

Yes. But it would be wrong to point fingers – majority of these stories were just not dug in a significant way to be immortalized as of yet – be it as films or other striking mediums. Think of western movies based on mythologies and legends –Pan's Labyrinth, Troy, Thor – and countless more. How many can you count on mythologies and legends extracted from our lands?

What were the constraints or difficulties you had to face while directing 'Bangladesher Harano Golpo'?

When we set out on this journey, we were all students; friends with a 'mission' you could say. In fact, the entire film – from pre to post production – was completed by a group that never had any formal filmmaking training, with career paths in different directions. While that in itself required an immense amount of skill to be acquired along the process, there were constant financial and time-commitment pressures. It should also be noted that everyone involved in the production process did so pro-bono, with no financial incentives. Holding on to that zeal and ensuring coordination across involvement of 52 individuals at the different parts of the production, was a major challenge. Being more and more engrossed in the academia, there were times when I did question myself – is it really worth it – but I never questioned whether the film would actually be finished, despite its numerous delays. I knew I would get it done. As to whether it was worth it – I suppose time will give me the answer on whether it will leave any mark on the audience.

What qualities do you think a director should posses? Do you have any suggestions for aspiring directors in this field?

Directing is like completing a puzzle. You have to know your pieces, where they best fit and belong, and how to bring all the pieces together. For that, you need two things: to have a vision you are confident that you can materialize creatively, and the charisma to keep the team together and to be able to pass on the vision to your cast and crew. I am lucky enough to be able to say Finding Bangladesh has a brilliant team, many of whom did internalize the ownership and the vision. Never let the lack of resources hinder your passion. Persevere and experiment. If you stick to it and are smart in its utilization, you will succeed.

Any new upcoming projects that we should look forward to?

Related to Finding Bangladesh, at the moment we are working on a book with details of all the featured stories in Bangladesher Harano Golpo and a very unique board game, both of which we hope to launch at the upcoming Ekushey Book Fair 2019. Other than that, my PhD studies are keeping me preoccupied enough. Although, my thesis partly being on migration and women empowerment, there are talks of making a documentary film on the concept of empowerment. That is, however, just in the conversation phase.

Any special message for our readers?

I invite you to partake in the story-telling that is Bangladesher Harano Golpo, very soon to be made publicly available, and I hope the film will inspire you to your own journey of finding Bangladesh.