Documentary Film Analysis of – Swarup Shondhan (Quest for Self)

Course Code: MSJ11375

Six steps of linguistic changes in Bangladeshi cinema based on the film Quest for Self (Swarup Sondhan).

Film language is a method of narrative expression that promotes the development of narrative and plot. Film languages are very important methods in filmmaking, and when used correctly, they make a film successful. This language is expressed in films visually through various techniques such as lighting, performance, mise-en-scéne, cinematography, editing, and more. The progression and linguistic changes in any industry happens due to the effect of changes in cultural beliefs and the state of the society in that specific region. The goal of the film Quest for Self (Swarup Sondhan) was to find out if the filmmakers of Bangladesh could establish any regional film language in our films.

The film Quest for Self (Swarup Sondhan) was directed and produced by Mohammad Shazzad Hossain and Arafatul Kabir Rizve. The movie is an archive by itself about the progression of linguistic changes in our country's cinema from the perspective of many renowned filmmakers of Bangladesh. The film is divided into the six stages of linguistic development in this geographic location from 1931-2011. The six stages are-

1. The Protest (1931-1970)

2. Resistance (1971)

3. Passion (1972-1975)

4. The Hope (1976-1998)

5. Disillusion (1993-2007)

6. Reconstruction (1999-2011)

The Protest (1931-1970)

The beginning of the film in this part of Bengal was challenging, and the filmmakers faced enormous hurdles and difficulties. The west Pakistanis gave excuses that it was not possible to make films in this area due to the extreme. However, despite having the same climate, Calcutta ran a highly successful film industry from the 1930s to the 1950s. This was yet another trick to oppress east Pakistan because they were well aware that film was a primary medium for communication with the masses.

It is assumed that the Bangla language feature film in East Pakistan was "Mukh o Mukhosh" (1956) by Abdul Zabbar Khan. When he started filmmaking in East Pakistan, the country practically had no resources to produce an entire film. There was no access to cameras, sound, processing tools, labs, etc. That is why Abdul Zabbar used to record the films here and then transferred the documents to Lahore to create the final film. Due to the scarcity and availability of resources, most of the films created at that time were simplistic and based on the reality of Bengalis. Despite the hardships, some highly creative people were involved in cinema at the very beginning and portrayed our people and their lives with utmost honesty. Folk tales, fairy tales, tragedies, and comedies of eternal Bengal villages were reflected excellently on screen.

For example, "Asiya" (1960) was based on a young rural girl's life where the girl is defeated and tries to escape reality. "Tutoring" (1964) by Subhash Dutta, here the Modhumati village is a symbol of love and eternal peace." Nodi o Nari" (1965) by Sadek Khan is a portrayal of the lifestyle of farmers and folks on the riverside. This movie introduced various techniques to visual storytelling. The use of beautiful landscapes and long shots was seen in this movie. The strength of this film is its reality. A lot of scenes from the movie convey communal and cultural meaning.

Another film that introduced a completely new dimension in presentation style was "Rupban" (1965) by Salahuddin. This was like an opera-style movie because the dialogues were through songs. Once again, the presentation was simplistic, almost like hearing a folk tale from your grandparents. "13 No Feku Ostagar Lane" (1966) was considered the first Bangladeshi comedy film. The story was about two houses and five characters within the houses. Besides, "Behula" (1966) by Jahir Raihan is considered most admirable from a technical point of view.

During this time, mass movements started, and hope for a new nation was shaping up. That is when the movie "Shiraj-Ud-Doula" came into the picture. The film is not just entertainment, but also a very impactful communication medium with the mass people, and "Shiraj-Ud-Doula" was the prime example. It was about Bengali and nationalism. During war, the freedom fighters used to recite dialogues from this movie a lot which acted as a source of motivation. One of my personal favorites "Jeebon theke neya" (1970) by Jahir Raihan was an outstanding representation of contemporary politics. The symbolism and allegories used in the film were truly remarkable.

Resistance (1971)

As the liberation war was going on in 1971, most of the movies were centered on war. One of the most notable films of that time was "Stop Genocide" (1971) by Jahir Rayhan. During the liberation war, horrible genocide was taking place. As a filmmaker, he rose up to the occasion from his medium. Despite not being a documentary filmmaker, Jahir Rayhan showed an entirely new side of his creativity with "Stop Genocide". Throughout the entire film, the word "stop" is repeated multiple times to stop this muddle. This undoubtedly is one of the best examples of film language in Bangladesh's film history. After that in the same year, a few other movies with similar agendas came along the way. For example, "A state is born" by Jahir Rayhan, "Liberation Fighters" by Alamgir Kabir, and "Innocent Millions" by Babul Chowdhury. All these movies were narrated in English to get international attention on this issue.

Passion (1972-1975)

As this time was right after the devastation of liberation war, there were countless number of movies based on war or post-war. For example, "Banglar Mukh" by Amjad Hossain, "Ora 11 jon" (1972) by Chashi Nazrul Islam, "Orunodoyer ognishakhhi" (1972) by Suvash Dutta, and many more. As war films started popularizing at that time, some also attempted to make money out of this cause. In the movie "Bagha Bangali" (1972) by Ananda, a scene of a girl getting raped during the war was portrayed in an extremely obscene way to attract audiences to the theatres.

Before this time, the films produced in Bengal were simplistic and focused on the stories of rural Bengal. However, that turned to the modern city lifestyle in post-war films. The most prominent example could be "Rongbaj" (1972). For the first time in the Bangladeshi film language, we see the influence of the "modern" lifestyle. This included sound, action scenes and alcoholism like in foreign films. We started to make fights and confrontations the primary material of our cinema, not the interrelation between people. This mark as the beginning of the fall of our cinema, where we started to lose our 'Bengali' identity in the film language.

During that era, we see the introduction of Cinéma vérité in Bangladeshi films. "Dhire bohe Meghna" (1973), an outstanding creation of Alamgir Kabir, was a post-war movie that promoted Cinéma vérité. The director used a few actual footages of the liberation war that gave the feeling of watching a documentary, yet it was fiction. In "Titash, Ekti Nodir Nam" (1973) by Ritwik Ghatak, we can see him use the sound of actual rain that almost felt like a piece of rhythmic music. The filmmakers gradually started to experiment with filmmaking techniques and equipment, like-use as different lenses, shot size and composition, expressions of casts, etc.

The Hope (1976-1998)

Gradually in the mid 70's we see some outstanding films with many dimensions in film language with the various use of symbolism, acting, sounds, camera shots, and angles. In movies, we were able to see the emergence of political difficulties, social problems, domestic problems, corruption, and a variety of other topics. In "Shurjonkonna" (1976) by Alamgir Kabir, we see a modern film

ic treatment in the movie. There is an outstanding blend of dreams and reality in the movie. Besides, the songs were perfectly positioned in the movie seemed relatable, and contributed to the actual story. The delicate use of expression in film language can be found in the film "Nayanmoni" (1976) by Amjad Hossain. After the death of Nayan's mother, when he faces the reality that his mother has passed away, the director used no actual sentences to express Nayan's feelings. Instead, Nayan's expression spoke for itself. The use of an expression in this particular circumstance is an impactful film language. The film "Palonko" (1976) by Rajen Torofdar was about the partition of this subcontinent. The scene of the memory of "goodbye," the juxtaposing of his memory, and the voices of his loved ones leaving was outstanding.

With the film "Megher onek rong" (1976) by Harun-or-Rashid, the 1st colored movie was introduced in Bengal. This movie was not just renowned for being the first colored film, but also for the beautiful use of language in cinema, especially in the last scene of the rail tracks. A film heavily focused on the visual aspect was "Sareng Bou" (1976) by Abdullah Al Mamun. Through the scene of the wife breastfeeding her husband to save his life, the director challenged the social context at that time. "Golapi Ekhon Train e" (1978) by Amzad Hossain was a movie about cast struggles. The discrimination and challenges they face every day. We can notice the use of symbolism throughout the train. The train symbolizes speed and the speed of life never stops. Another use of symbolism by the utilization of set designing elements can be seen in "Rupali Saikate" (1979) by Alamgir Kabir. To establish the then circumstances of a scene, the director used a poster of Che Guevara on the wall with "stop imperialism" written on it.

"Shurjo Dighol Bari" (1979) by Mashiuddin Shaker and Sheikh Niamat Ali is a film where we can successfully find the true rural Bangladesh. The portrayal of rural life, slum life, poverty, hunger, etc. There are a few shots in the movie that was truly remarkable. One of them was a woman walking up a slope of the land. The scene almost looks like she is appearing and finally rising from her downfall by herself. There was another long shot that was shown to portray the patriarchy and the violence of men. One of the best films created in the history of Bangladesh was "Chhutir Ghanta" (1980) by Azizur Rahman. Even 42 years after its release, this movie is still celebrated in Bangladesh. The progression of the kid Sumon trapped for 11 days in a washroom was portrayed amazingly through different visualizations, hallucinations, and fear. The film was a great example of circular narrative as the director was mending time to go back and forth with the story. Another great multi-colored film (mix of both B&W and colored shots) of that time was "Lal Kajol" (1982) by Matin Rahman. The entire movie was shot in black and white. But in the last scene, when the woman is shot, with the gunshot sound, there is a shift to a highly vibrant color on the screen. Here the director tried to convey the message with color, sound, and visuals.

This stage in Bangladesh cinema started with some fantastic productions on the depiction of reality in cinemas through the use of various mediums like sound, dialogues, colors, and visualizations. Then arises the ultimate restrictions of the censor board. Basically, to oppress the citizens under dictatorship. Also, during that time, the rise of short filmmaking was prominent due to short budgets. Shooting films in 35mm took much money, so directors shifted to 16mm. A trend of unorthodox films was rising that challenged social norms and capitalism that questioned religious norms. For example, "71 er Jishu" (1993) by Nasiruddin Yousuff. Some shots and scenes in the movie are still considered highly successful in film language. How the emotion of belief and disbelief was shown during the inhumane crisis of 1971 was outstanding.

Disillusion (1993-2007)

During that time, the assistant directors started making films out of the need for livelihood, not out of passion. So, the quality did not matter to them. Most of the movies they made were Xerox copies of films from other countries. For example, "Qyamat theke Qyamat" (1993) by Sohanur Rahman Sohan. Through the titles of the cinemas, it was visible that there was a significant cultural change among Bengalis. That is when most Bengalis were becoming distant from the theatres because films were no longer relatable.

During the 90's film, obscenity was starting to be popularized. Audiences could not go to the cinema halls with their families like they used to due to the obscene nature of the films. There were changes in every possible aspect of cinema, like costume, props, language, etc. Basically, the directors focused only on commercial success, which eventually led to the downfall of the Bangladeshi film industry.

There was also a literal change in the language used in films. Obscene dialogues and slang were starting to be popularized. There started a massive debate about whether the use of slang in this popular media will affect the film industry. However, Kazi Hayat, a renowned film director at that time, argued that slang brought more realism to the films because that was the actual language people used in that context.

Reconstruction (1999-2011)

This era refers to mending the Bangladeshi film industry's damaged reputation. The films were returning to realism, and they started to speak the stories of real Bengal once again. Many notable films were being made addressing and challenging various social and cultural issues, injustice, struggles, and feminism.

In the movies "Itihash Konna" (1999) & "Silalipi" (2002) by Shameem Akhtar, and "Swapnodanay" (2007) by Golam Rabbani Biplob were all films where women had powerful characters and personalities. Before this time, women were mostly objectified and portrayed as supporting characters in cinemas. However, these films presented them as their own confident and authentic selves.

Two of my favorite movies, "Lal Shalu" by Tanvir Mokammel and "Matir Moyna" by Tareque Masud, beautifully showed the clash of "Bengali" and "Muslim" identities. In "Matir Moyna," the clash of these two identities was remarkably portrayed through the use of folk songs throughout the movie.

There was also a rise in documentary filmmaking. For example, "Khumi I" (2007) by Ittukgula Changma, "Lohakhor" (2007) by Shaheen dil-Raaz, "Seskritto" (2008) by Yasmine Kabir, etc.

Eventually, in 2009 the first digital film, "Priyotomeshu" by Morshedul Islam, was released. There was a massive debate about digital films with traditional films, and it was frowned upon by many. However, the format of films matters little. The thing that matters the most is the actual content and story of the film.

The film "Third person singular number" (2009) by Mostafa Sarwar Farooki was one of the most controversial movies at that time after its release. Farooki tried to create a new space from conventional cinema through this creation. This movie was controversial and criticized by many because most audiences reject reality in cinema.

During "Reconstruction," there were a lot of new positive changes in actual film language through every aspect of filmmaking, storytelling, narrative style, production, and technology. And hopefully, this will soon lead to the rise of Bangladeshi cinema once again.