PremiumExclusive! Mejbaur Rahman Sumon: Everybody needn’t like Hawa. It is ok if some people think the film is overrated
The filmmaker talks exclusively to OTTplay about the frenzy, making of the film, and criticism that the film has received so far
Last Updated: 01.47 PM, Nov 08, 2022
Mejbaur Rahman Sumon’s first feature film Hawa has created nothing short of a storm. The film was released in Bangladesh in July and saw very encouraging box office reports. With Chanchal Chowdhury, Nazifa Tushi, Sariful Razz, Sohel Mondol, and others, the film is primarily shot in the middle of a sea. It delves into the lives of fishermen in a trawler. The film is Bangladesh’s official entry into the Best International Feature Film category of the 95th Academy Awards.
When the film was screened in Kolkata at the fourth Bangladesh Film Festival, it created a frenzy among the audience. Mejbaur Rahman Suman talks exclusively to OTTplay about the frenzy, making, and criticism that the film has received. Read on….
You saw the excitement over Hawa in Kolkata. How does it feel to see this craze?
Obviously, it feels great and gratifying. But at the same time, it is also true that by now, my team and I have gotten used to the craze around Hawa. In Bangladesh, the practice of going to theatres to watch films does not exist anymore. About 20 years ago, people used to go to theatres. They don’t anymore. Several theatre halls are also shut now. Given this situation and the content, I did not expect that people in Bangladesh would watch Hawa. In fact, we wanted to showcase Hawa in Kolkata because the audience there is more used to such content. Soon after the release of the trailer and the songs – E Hawa, Sada Sada Kala Kala, and Atta Baaje Deri Korish Na – there was a sensation in Bangladesh. People queued up to watch the film there.
Meanwhile, the release in Kolkata got complicated. We expected that people in Kolkata will be keener to watch this film. We thought the content and the motif would be liked by them. Then the Bangladesh Film Festival took place. We got to know about it late. We did not know about it clearly till the last night. Then Chanchalda and I posted it on our social media. After seeing the reaction in Kolkata, we were amazed.
Even before the release of the film, It was the release of the songs that drew attention toward the film…
Atta Baaje Deri Korish Na is sung by Basudeb Das Baul – a very talented Baul artiste from Santiniketan. I heard his songs many years ago in 2017-18. I went to his place twice. He has never done any playback and that is astonishing. He is such a talented singer. Atta Baaje Deri Korish Na is a traditional folk song that influences Assam and Sylhet. We composed it from Dhaka and sent it to him. He sang the song.
It is Sada Sada Kala Kala that became the talk of the town…
I was a student of Charukola in Dhaka. Hashim Bhai (Hashim Mahmud) used to sing this song. He used to sing and I used to play the guitar. That’s when the song got stuck with me. In the film, we thought of replacing traditional instruments with elements that are common in a boat – Bamboo sticks, drums, etc. That worked beautifully. The song has a casual feel, as if, people are playing the song with whatever they have in front of them. Meanwhile, our audience has lapped up this no-instrument feel of the song. It is a simple, easy, percussion-based song that people have loved. More than melody, it is the beat that worked in favour.
How and when did this idea of Hawa come to your mind?
First things first, I don’t believe in storytelling. To get a good story, one can read literature. What’s the point of going to theatres to watch films? Any film is supposed to be an experience. If Hawa could tell a story was never an important point for me. It could be a tale, an experience, or even a slice of life.
I am very scared of snakes. Many years ago, in Gulshan, I met a bedini (gypsy woman). Traditionally, they scare people with snakes and ask for money. She scared me too. That’s when I realised that traditional professions are slowly going into oblivion. Modernism usurps such livelihood of bedini community, Kobi Gaan artistes, etc. While writing the script I realised Hawa also has influences of Manasamangal. Manasa sinks Chand Sadagar’s ship. In Hawa, Gulti has Manasa’s impression. With Iba’s death, she loses everything. Taking a cue from Behula Lokhinder, it becomes a story of Gulti’s loss.
Tell us how does it feel to be selected as the Bangladeshi film at the Oscars?
When we were making the film, there were zero expectations. We did not think it will be watched by so many people. Due to the pandemic, we could not send Hawa to festivals. Now it is going to compete in the Oscars and I am happy about it. I will be happier if it wins. I never thought of its reception while making the film. I don’t think like that. I made what I wanted to make.
Meanwhile, many people have also criticised Hawa….
Why should everybody like a film? There are films that I like and many others don’t and vice versa. After watching Pather Panchali, Kamal Kumar Majumder called it ‘a still photography’, instead of a movie. Many people called Hawa an overrated film. Not only in Kolkata but in Bangladesh, there are two groups – one in favour of Hawa and another that thinks Hawa is overrated. They engage in verbal fights on social media. However, it is indisputable that Hawa has reached its audience. People came and watch the film. One hundred days on, it is still running in theatres. Not only in Dhaka, but Hawa is also running in many other countries. If nothing else, Hawa has hammered the status quo we got used to. You will have to admit that
What’s next?
I have started thinking about a second film. Nothing has been finalised yet. However, this one will focus on a certain type of repetition and will also have the influence of religious perspective. It is a story of two middle-aged human beings. This will have Abrahamic references.
If you watch my television Natok, you will see that all my works have synch mythological references. I directed Jaya Ahsan in Tarporo Angurlata Nando Ke Bhalobashey in 2009 and that also has mythological deconstructions. Later, I worked in the advertising industry for 10 years.
It is well talked about that you took a long time to prepare for Hawa…
I could not continue to work on Hawa seamlessly due to my job. We hosted workshops and grooming sessions for five months or so. It wasn't about the acting, but about the other activities – operating a fishing net, walking on a boat, learning how to swim, etc. One may know swimming but swimming in the middle of the sea while shooting is not the same. It took someone and a half years to make it.
When are you planning to release the film on OTT?
Hawa is not made for OTT. It is still running in theatres and we are still planning to release it in Kolkata. But we don’t know if that is at all possible. I am not thinking of OTT right now. OTT is a closed medium that has nothing to offer but a story. There is no experience of watching a film. In Mubi, you still get to watch some fascinating films but Not many people watch Mubi in Bangladesh. In Netflix and Amazon Prime, all you get is stories.