Mostofa Sarwar Farooki discusses freedom of Storytelling key challenge for films in Bangladesh

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Acclaimed filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki said that the absence of storytelling freedom was the main challenge for the country’s film industry.
The government policy does not encourage directors to portray what they want to, added the maker.
‘The main problem of our film industry is the lack of storytelling freedom and of filmmaking freedom… If filmmakers don’t have to think that their films may not receive clearance from the Censor Board, or the story may hurt the sentiment of any group, then they can freely make quality films. The existing environment is suffocating for us,’ said Farooki in an interview with New Age at his office on Friday.
Quoting the late distinguished filmmaker Tareque Masud, he said, ‘We don’t want [financial] assistance, but we want that there will be no obstacles to our work. That will be enough for us.’
Referring to his much-talked-about film ‘Shanibar Bikel’, ‘Saturday Afternoon’ in English, he said that there was a circus going on between the Censor Board and the Appeal Board in the name of censorship.
‘The circus has revealed that there are no laws and regulations regarding censorship. The censorship policy is totally vague. Anything or everything can be banned under the policy. You can even ban the historic March 7 speech of Bangabandhu. It all depends on who is in power and how they want to see things. You have to stich a shirt according to the measurement provided by the authorities concerned,’ he explained.
He said that the situation in Bangladesh was not a friendly environment for new films and filmmakers.
‘It’s not a matter of how many films don’t get censor clearance. If a single film does not receive Censor Board clearance, it will create an environment for self-censorship among other filmmakers,’ Farooki observed.
He went on to say, ‘You’ll make films having thrills and suspense, but will not portray the time, the geography, the communities and the country. You won’t also present the political situation of the country in that particular time. You can create safe stories in such a way that you can put them in the context of any countries like Nepal, Pakistan or India. But the stories will not identify the time and the geography. The practice of walking away from the time and the geography has increased due to the pressure from the Censor Board.’
Films Farooki made, such as Third Person Singular Number, Television, No Bed of Roses, received critical acclaim in many countries of the world. They also received international and national awards.
Farooki is the founder of ‘Chabial’, a movement that encourages new filmmakers to craft good flicks.
Apart from the censorship challenge for new films, Farooki noted, a small number of multiplexes and the distribution of the sale proceeds of tickets among the distributors and the producers are also important challenges for filmmakers.


*The interview has been published in New Age Eid Special Magazine 2023 ( ). Log into www.newagebd.com to read the interview online. Or click the link below: