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Routledge Contemporary South Asia Series IDENTITY, NATIONHOOD AND BANGLADESH INDEPENDENT CINEMA Fahmidul Haq and Brian Shoesmith Identity, Nationhood and Bangladesh Independent Cinema This book analyses how independent filmmakers from Bangladesh have represented national identity in their films. The focus of this book is on independent and art-house filmmakers and how cinema plays a vital role in constructing national and cultural identity. The authors examine post-2000 films that predominantly deal with issues of national identity and demonstrate how they tackle questions of national identity. Bangladesh is seemingly a homogenous country consisting 98% of Bengali and 90% of Muslim. This majority group has two dominant identities – Bengaliness (the ethno-linguistic identity) and Muslimness (the religious identity). Bengaliness is perceived as secular-modern whereas Muslimness is perceived as traditional and conservative. However, Bangladeshi independent and art-house filmmakers portray the nationhood of the country with an enthusiasm and liveliness that exceeds these two categories. In addition to these categories, the authors add two more dimensions to the approach to discuss identity: Popular Religion and Transformation. The study argues that these identity categories are represented in the films and that they both reproduce and challenge dominant discourses of nationalism. Providing a new addition to the discourse of contemporary national identity, the book will be of interest to researchers studying international film and media studies, independent cinema studies, Asian cinema, and South Asian culture, politics and identity politics. Fahmidul Haq is visiting professor at Bard College, New York, USA, and he has taught Mass Communication and Journalism at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh for nearly two decades. He is also a former visiting research professor at University of Notre Dame, USA. His areas of interest include South Asian Cinema, Critical Media Studies and New Media Culture. His publications on South Asian film and media both in English and Bengali include Cinema of Bangladesh: A Brief History (2020). A human rights defender and public intellectual, Haq’s online activism evolves around culture and politics of Bangladesh. Brian Shoesmith was an honorary professor in Communications and Arts at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia. He was also Dean of Academic Development at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) for nearly a decade. He is the co-author of Media Theories and Approaches: A Global Perspective (2008) and co-editor of Bangladesh’s Changing Mediascape (2013). He was a Founding Editor of Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies (Taylor and Francis). Dr. Shoesmith passed away on January 30th, 2020. Routledge Contemporary South Asia Series The Geopolitics of Energy in South Asia Energy Security of Bangladesh Chowdhury Ishrak Ahmed Siddiky Transdisciplinary Ethnography in India Women in the Field Edited by Rosa Maria Perez and Lina Fruzzetti Nationalism in India Texts and Contexts Edited by Debajyoti Biswas and John Charles Ryan Gender Responsive Budgeting in South Asia Experience of Bangladeshi Local Government Pranab Kumar Panday and Shuvra Chowdhury Gendered Modernity and Indian Cinema The Women in Satyajit Ray’s Films Devapriya Sanyal Reading Jhumpa Lahiri Women, Domesticity and the Indian American Diaspora Nilanjana Chatterjee Indian Literatures in Diaspora Sireesha Telugu Identity, Nationhood and Bangladesh Independent Cinema Fahmidul Haq and Brian Shoesmith Media Discourse in Contemporary India A Study of Select News Channels Sudeshna Devi For the full list of titles in the series please visit: https://www.routledge.com/ Routledge-Contemporary-South-Asia-Series/book-series/RCSA Identity, Nationhood and Bangladesh Independent Cinema Fahmidul Haq and Brian Shoesmith First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Fahmidul Haq and Brian Shoesmith (this might be Fahmidul Haq and Vivien Shoesmith as Brian has passed away and Routledge signed the contract with his wife Vivien Shoesmith) The right of Fahmidul Haq and Brian Shoesmith to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-1-032-22082-6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-22084-0 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-27109-3 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003271093 Typeset in Times New Roman by MPS Limited, Dehradun In memories of Brian Shoesmith The co-author who expired in the last stage of the book project Contents List of Figures viii List of Tables ix Acknowledgements x Introduction 1 1 Nationhood, Identity and Independent Cinema 7 2 Identity Approaches of Bengali Muslims 30 3 The Making of Independent Cinema in Bangladesh 56 4 Textual Analysis: Foundational Films 87 5 Textual Analysis: Transitional Films 112 6 Textual Analysis: Contemporary Films 137 7 Representing Identity through Cinema 160 Conclusion 190 Index 197 Figures 4.1 Rabi Das (Jayanta Chattopadhyay), Banasreebala (Naila Azad Nupur) and Subal (Mamunur Rashid) in the green room of the Jatra stage 90 4.2 Majid (Raisul Islam Asad) in the shrine 97 4.3 Yakub (Riaz) and Rehana (Sohana Saba) in a moment of despair 104 5.1 Asma (Rimjhim) with a clay bird at her hand 114 5.2 Meher (Jaya Bachchan) in prayer 124 5.3 Amin Patwary (Kazi Shahir Huda Rumi) in front of a halal television 130 6.1 Ruhul (Fazlul Haque) comes back home from the city 140 6.2 Mithu (Noor Imran) enters Rima’s (Sheena Chouhan) house and blackmails her 145 6.3 Roya (Shahana Goswami) in a dream sequence with garments workers 151 6.4 Kamal (Kamal Mani Chakma) with his bicycle 155 Tables 0.1 Selected films and their categories 4 3.1 Lists of selected early independent short films 61 3.2 Lists of selected films of the second phase (1993–1999) of the independent cinema movement 62 3.3 Format, length and funding details of selected feature films (2000–2010) 69 3.4 Selected global films 74 3.5 Selected documentaries 77