BFDC to hold festival on Gazi Mazharul Anwar in early February, his songs to be sung anew
Photo: Collected
The Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) has taken the initiative to hold a film festival on the eminent lyricist, director and producer Gazi Mazharul Anwar. The festival will be held in February, the month of his birth, said BFDC managing director Masuma Rahman Tani.
Earlier, last September, BFDC held a three-day open film festival on the 30th death anniversary of the late film actor Salman Shah. The new initiative has been taken on the back of the success of that event.
Tani said, ‘Although the Salman Shah death anniversary event was held on a very small scale, we got a tremendous response. We wanted to do something on Gazi Mazharul Anwar uncle as well. He loved this industry, valued everything and considered it his own home. But after he passed away, we could not honour him in the way he deserved. We only took from him; we could not give much back from the home side.’
It is learnt that as Gazi Mazharul Anwar’s birthday falls in the month of Ramadan, the event will be held in early February.
Speaking about the event, Masuma Rahman Tani said, ‘We will hold a film festival on him and also recreate his timeless songs. The main aim of the festival is to take the work of this legendary personality to the present generation. This practice should always exist in our industry. If we can give proper honour to the gifted people of our cinema, the artistes of this time will also be more inspired in their work.’
Tani said Gazi Mazharul Anwar’s daughter, singer Dithi Anwar, has joined this BFDC initiative.
Gazi Mazharul Anwar wrote many popular film songs and timeless patriotic songs. He started writing songs for the then Radio Pakistan in the sixties. He entered films with the song ‘Akasher hatey achhe ekrash neel’ from Subhash Dutta’s film ‘Ayna O Abashishta’. He wrote more than 20,000 songs.
Apart from being a lyricist, he was a successful story writer, screenwriter and director. Under his own production house, Desh Chitrakatha, he produced and directed many films including ‘Shasti’, ‘Swadhin’, ‘Shorto’, ‘Somor’, ‘Ulka’, ‘Amma’, ‘Poradhin’, ‘Artonad’, ‘Pashaner Prem’ and ‘Ei Je Duniya’. Born in Daudkandi, Cumilla, on 22 February 1943, the film personality died on 4 September 2022.
At a glance
Gazi Mazharul Anwar received the Ekushey Padak in 2002 for his contribution to music and won the National Film Award 5 times — The Daily Star Bangla reported this in September 2022.
According to a bdnews24.com report of 4 September 2022, three of the 20 greatest Bangla songs of all time in a BBC survey were written by him; among them, ‘Ektara tui desher kotha’ came in 19th place.
Sources
Original report: Ajker Patrika
Background sources: The Daily Star Bangla, September 2022; bdnews24.com, 4 September 2022
