Shongram

About the film

Shongram (Bengali: সংগ্রাম; English: Struggle; classified under the name 71 er Shongram in Bangladesh) is a 2014 British-Bangladeshi romantic historical drama film written, directed and produced by Munsur Ali, stars Anupam Kher, Asia Argento, Amaan Reza and Dilruba Yasmeen Ruhee, and co-stars Arman Parvez Murad and Ananta Hira.

The film depicts an English reporter speaking to an old freedom fighter who reveals his past, account, involvement, loss and struggle during the conflict of 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

Plot

Set against the backdrop of the present time UK, the storyline of the film shows the memories of an ailing British-Bangladeshi Muslim man Karim Uddin (Anupam Kher) recalling, recounting and sharing his horrific experiences during the war of independence on his hospital deathbed in an interview with daring British journalist Sarah (Asia Argento) in London.

The story focuses on flashback scenes of the war from the perspective of a young Karim (Amaan Reza) who falls in love with a beautiful young Hindu woman Asha (Dilruba Yasmeen Ruhee). His world is then torn apart when his peaceful village is interrupted by a war and he is separated from his girlfriend so he can do his duty. He is soon forced to join an underground band of freedom fighters after the genocide and abduction of innocent Bangladeshis and his girlfriend.

In a destructive whirlwind of mass murder, abductions, rape, and arson, Karim faces new challenges and decisions, attempts to serve his country, fight for his freedom and seeks revenge against the man who ruined his life before he can finally search for and save Asha.

Production

The film is Munsur Ali's first feature film, who wrote, directed and produced it. It was the first time a British film was simultaneously written, produced and directed by a British Bangladeshi. The film is a fictional romantic drama based around the factual and historical events. In a June 2013 interview, Ali said, "I've actually been learning about this topic [Bangladesh Liberation War] of 1971 from a young age, having heard a lot of stories about the struggles of 1971. I viewed archive footage and read testimonials from both Bangladeshi and Pakistani points of view. I also spoke to eye witnesses, including an Englishman who was in Dhaka on the night everything kicked off, 25th of March 1971. Forty-two years on, it's difficult to formulate a picture of what happened that is 100% correct, and as a filmmaker I understand that. I avoided disputed issues such as how many were killed during the genocide, but I accepted that there was genocide. It was important for me to find my own opinion and give that a narrative structure." The research included talking to people of the liberation army, researchers, victims of the war, people in the Pakistani Army who are in the UK and going material on the war.

Although it is fiction, the film is loosely based around key events and dates, such as Sheikh Mujibur Rahman after the war speech on the 7 March 1971, just before his arrest, the first day of attack on the Bengali civilian population on 25 March 1971, while also explaining the atrocities that took place. The film includes a narrative of political, historical and romantic overtones.

The film starts with rare original archive footage on NBC from 26 March 1971 (when Operation Searchlight started) setting the backdrop to the film. The 60 second footage talks of 200 years of British rule, Partition and the context of the Liberation War is developed from there.

Soundtrack

Ali wrote a scene based on the song "Ey Shondhay", which Armeen Musa co-wrote with Saif Q and featured on her debut album Aye Ghum Bhangai. Ali contacted Musa via Twitter for permission to use the song for the film in September 2011. Coincidentally, Musa was intending to visit London the following month, and after meeting in person, Ali offered her the job of soundtrack composer in December 2011.

The film's soundtrack album contains seven songs which are sung by Dr. Nashid Kamal, Kona, Armeen Musa, Kevin Melnick, Nolok Babu, Razu and Zanita Ahmed. The soundtrack was composed by Armeen and the background music score was composed by Emon Saha.

A seven-track album was released by Laser Vision in Bangladesh on 18 March 2014. A full nine-track edition of the album was made available for digital download internationally after June 2014.

Promotion and release

The initial distribution marketing trailer for Shongram was first screened at Rich Mix Cinema in London as part of Brick Lane Circle's third annual conference on the "Story of Bangladesh and Bangladeshi People, At Home and in the Diaspora" on 27 April 2013. Anupam Kher, Munsur Ali and Dilruba Yasmeen Ruhee attended a press conference at Grange City Hotel in London on 9 August 2013. Trailers of the film were shown at the University of Manchester, where Ruhee took part in a seminar while visiting the UK to campaign for the film.

The film had its first private screening at the Rich Mix Cinema on 10 February 2014. The film premiered at Blockbuster Cinema screen in Jamuna Future Park in Dhaka on 27 March 2014 (the day after Bangladesh Independence Day), with theatrical release on 28 March in 50 cinemas in Bangladesh (including Star Cinplex in Bashundhara City), before heading for Cannes, then a UK release and world premier at The O2 Arena in London on 14 July, a special screening at London's Leicester Square on 16 July at the London Indian Film Festival, and followed by Europe and international release in Malaysia and Singapore.

Key details