Mujib The Making Of A Nation movie review: A bland, by-the-numbers biopic of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

One of the more alive parts of the film has the main protagonist talk about the importance of his life’s work: it wasn’t so much on religious lines that Bangladesh was created, but because Jinnah refused to accord the Bengali language as much importance as Urdu. With this, the Dhaka-based experienced politician Hasan Shahid Suhrawardy (Ahmad) and his young mentor Rahman (Shuvoo, a remarkable look-alike of the Bangalbandu) found the key to gather together people who thought on similar lines, and the Awami League was formed. The cracks in the already fragile connection between the two Pakistans deepened, and when Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi threw her weight behind Rahman, it was just a matter of time that the Pakistani Army surrendered, and the Bangladeshi flag was unfurled over the new country.

The shared scenes between Rahman (Shuvoo, a shoo-in physically for the Bangalbandu) are imbued with feeling: the partnership between the much older man and his wife Renu (Tisha), which started when she was a little slip of a girl, is the rock on which Rahman rests. The family scenes in which they read out their favourite author, Bertrand Russell’s lines, are nice too.

But there’s no attempt at any complexity in this recounting, and there’s nothing that suggests reasons for the occasional prickliness between India and its neighbour. Stands to reason, because the biopic, a co-production between India and Bangladesh, has been sanctioned by Sheikh Haseena (played by Nusraat Faria in the movie), the daughter of Mujib. Respectful, yet bland.

Mujib The Making Of A Nation movie cast: Arifin Shuvoo, Nusrat Imrose Tisha, Tauquir Ahmad, Nusraat Faria, Deepak Antani, Rajit Kapur
Mujib The Making Of A Nation movie director: Shyam Benegal
Mujib The Making Of A Nation movie rating: 2 stars