lights, camera, monpura

My friend got me a ticket to Monpura, the movie by Gias uddin Selim. There was a special showing of the movie in Gulshan Club (ooh how hoity toity eh?) and my friend is a member so she got all of us tickets. I had never been to Gulshan Club to see a movie before and i was expecting a glorified hall room with a projector screen and uncomfortable chairs. So you can understand my surprise when i walked into a two tiered genuine movie theater! Its amazing! Real theater, comfortable seats, and they even had a snack shop!! It was perfect! and then the movie started. 

Let me just back track a bit and tell you of my previous experiences with recent Bangladeshi films. I have watched Joyjatra, Ontorjatra and Made in Bangladesh and they were all woefully pathetic. Especially the "jatra" movies. Its ironic that they have the word "jatra" in the title because jatra means journey and both movies went nowhere. Made in Bangladesh did provide moments of entertainment and the actors did a terrific job. Plus the subject matter of the movie was also very modern and timely. But as a movie it didn't work. Movies like, all art mediums, have their own language. And the directors of Bangladesh just don't get that language. So i wasn't expecting much when i went to watch Monpura. Even though Gias Uddin Selim is one of the best storytellers in the drama circle in Bangladesh. Being a good Drama writer/director and making a good movie are 2 different things.

So the movie started. And i was impressed. the movie continued. i kept liking it. The movie ended and i felt finally i had seen a real movie made by a Bangladeshi film maker. I'm not going to criticise this movie because its a first effort from the director and there are some obvious problems, like the pacing and the story itself. I want to focus on the positives. And the biggest positive was that he story telling came through. Selim is a gifted storyteller and he made a very decent film in the context of Bangladesh and everything that goes with releasing a decent commercial film in this market. The characters were believable, the dialogues were crisp and meaningful, the sequences progressed the story, it was good stuff. There was a clear hero, a clear villain, a clear goal. This is a little trick that all the other film makers here forget. People need a clear hero and a villain. And they need larger than life moments, be it romantic, tragic, or comic. And Selim got that. And the result was a very entertaining film that really touched something in me. And that's saying a lot if you happen to know me and my high falutin' opinionated self. 

Another thing I liked was the portrayal of the villain as a real person, and not some cackling hollywood/FDC goon. Villains have excellent motivations and reasons for doing what they do. They know they're doing something wrong, but they also know that they need to do it. They don't do evil for the sake of being evil. They do things because they believe its their right. Just as you or i would believe whatever we do is right. I really appreciated the three dimensional treatment of the villain in this movie. 

In short, i was inspired. And i felt proud of Gias uddin Selim. Good job, sir!

Everyone, please go watch this movie. Its worth your time.