Mor Thengari

Mor Thengari (English: My Bicycle) is Bangladesh's first Chakma language film.[1] This short film was directed by Aung Rakhine[2] and produced by Ma Nan Khing. It was showed in the 13th International Film Festival in 2014 in Dhaka[1][3] and banned in Bangladesh due to the questions of cultural and political rights, highlighting the fact relating indigenous languages.[4][5] There were no professional actors involved in this production, all the actors were members of the Chakma community of Bangladesh.[6]

Plot

An indigenous man named Komol who is fired from a job in a town and returns to his hillside native village with only a bicycle. Although his son is happy to have his father back, but he has nothing to give his family except the bicycle. Komol decides to not return to the town for new jobs but tries to secure their livelihood through the cycle. He offers to ferry passengers and goods of villagers from place to place on his cycle and earn. Unfortunately one day an accident occurs, injuring an old man. Village goons threaten Komol and declare that no one can ride on that cycle. When Komol refuses to give them extortion, they destroy his bicycle.

Cast

  • Kamal Mani Chakma as Komal
  • Indira Chakma as Devi

Controversy

After the film was shown in several festivals, it received some international recognition. In 2015 Religion Today Film Festival in Italy and at the 16th Rainbow Film Festival in the United Kingdom, Ficsur International Film Festival at Buenos Aires of Argentina, Cine Kurumin Festival for Ingenious Films in Brazil.[7] But it can not be screened inside Bangladesh due to non approval of Bangladesh Film Censor Board. The Bangladesh Army took notice and lodged a 14 page long complaint that the film showed the activities of the army in the Chittagong Hill Tracts is a sensitive issue.[4] The film was censored due to its unfavourable portrayal of the police and armed forces on Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict.[6] Director Aung Rakhaine, alleged to the Censor Board for the violation of human rights.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 "My Bicycle". thedailystar.net. April 2, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  2. ↑ "My Bicycle (Mor Thengari)". londonnet.co.uk. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Dhaka Tribune". Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Bangladesh film banned because the censors could not speak a local dialect". Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  5. ↑ "How to Kill a Language". Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Bangladesh's Censor Board Blocks the Country's First Chakma-Language Film". Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  7. ↑ "My Bicycle in Latin American fests". daily-sun.com. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  8. ↑ Pantha Rahman Reza. "Bangladesh: Censorship board blocks minority language film". Retrieved May 5, 2018.
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