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Finding the truth

The poignant film by Tareque and Catherine Masud touches on many sensitive issues, says Sanjay Kumar

THE DARING DUO Catherine and Tareque Masud

`I couldn't make a documentary about my own childhood. I had to fictionalise it,' quipped Tareque Masud after the select screening of his controversial film Matir Moina (Clay Bird), at the India International Centre in New Delhi. The film is a poignant essay that traverses a turbulent period in the history of Bangladesh. Autobiographical in content, it touches on several sensitive themes of topical relevance. "This film has seen its share of trouble. Nevertheless, the media across the world has been with us", affirms Tareque. Tareque is a product of the madrasa (Islamic seminary) education, and he wanted to narrate the effect of a totalitarian climate on the psyche of a young boy and his mother and sister. It is the first feature film by Tareque and Catherine Masud, who explain they have used non-professional actors in it. "It was fascinating to shoot in real locations with street urchins and pickpockets. I have tried to narrate the turbulent phase of Bangladesh polity and society," recounts the award-winning documentary filmmaker. The film scored many firsts. Apart from being the first film from Bangladesh to make it to Cannes, it has won many laurels including the coveted Fipresci International Critics' Prize for the Best Film in 2002. Set in the era of East Pakistan, the struggle of the young lad, Anu and his tryst with religious education poignantly grips a raw nerve in every viewer's heart. He has to encounter the orthodoxy of his western educated but newly converted father Kazi, whose inflexible ways cost him his younger sister. Pointing out the ostensible place of Bengali folk music in the film narrative, the director adds, "Sufism is an important cementing force in the Bengali cultural heritage. It has always stood for moderation and humanism. That in a way is one of our messages." Defying the categorisation of a pure fiction film, Tareque has attempted an insider's critique of extremism in all spheres, whether it is in personal, political or cultural life.

History too

Exploring the entwining of personal sagas with national histories, the duo points out, "Kazi's obsession with homeopathy has a parallel with the destiny of a nation that embraces orthodoxy." Having been a documentary filmmaker for long, Tareque decided to experiment with the innovative technique of docu-fiction or fictionalised documentaries. "The notion of a fictional film being unreal is as incorrect as a documentary being real," he asserts. Therefore, having real characters relives the burden of acting. They tend to behave rather than act. In a way, they remind us that this new genre problematises our beliefs about facts and actuality. He clarifies that his film is not against Islam. It claims to show the encounter between popular religious discourse and its modern, political avatar. The complexity of the grey area most often missed in western narratives of Islam is captured in a captivating manner. In the final view, Tareque and Catherine warn us against the dangers of believing a documentary as actual. For, the actual need not always be the truthful version. Fiction, they conclude, could be a surer means of arriving at the truth than the actual.

Watching the film, nothing seems nearer the truth.

SANJAY KUMAR

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