Jibondhuli (), also known as The Drummer, is a 2014 Bangladeshi Bengali-language drama film written and directed by

Tanvir Mokammel Tanvir Mokammel (born 8 March 1955) is a Bangladeshi filmmaker and writer. He is the recipient of Ekushey Padak in 2017. He won Bangladesh National Film Awards total ten times for the films '' Nodir Naam Modhumoti'' (1995), '' Chitra Nodir Pare'' ...

, produced under Kino-Eye Films. The film is based on the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

in 1971, circulating around a lower caste Hindu dhak player. The film was set to be released in December 2013, but eventually premiered in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

on February 14, 2014. Jibondhuli was also premiered at the National Art Gallery of the

Shilpakala Academy Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (; ) or simply known as Shilpakala Academy is the principal state-sponsored national cultural centre of Bangladesh. It is a academy of fine and performing arts. History It is the national academy of fine and pe ...

on October 20, 2017, along with Pich Dhala Path and

Monpura ''Monpura'' (), is a 2009 Bangladeshi Bengali film, directed by Giasuddin Selim. It is considered as one of the greatest Bangladeshi films ever made. Over the years, this film has been a cult-classic due to lead's performance and the music alb ...

. The film was shot in various locations, including Pubail in

Gazipur Gazipur () is a city in central Bangladesh. Located in Gazipur District in Dhaka Division, it is a major industrial city north of Dhaka. It is a hub for the textile industry in Bangladesh, with 75% of all garment industries situated there. ...

, and also in

Khulna Khulna (, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of the Khulna District and the Khulna Division. It is the divisional centre of 10 districts of the division. Khulna is also the seco ...

's Chuknagar, where the

Chuknagar massacre Chuknagar massacre () was a massacre of Bengali Hindus committed by the Pakistan Army and local collaborators during the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971. The massacre took place on 20 May 1971 at Dumuria in Khulna and it was one of the l ...

was depicted.

Plot

Jibonkrishna Das is a lower caste

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

drummer who faces humiliation from the upper caste Hindus and the Muslims. When the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

captured his village, he attempted to flee to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

with his family. On their way though, hundreds of people, including Jibon's family, were killed by the army. Jibon, however, survived and was traumatized by the incident. Jibon returns to his village, now occupied by the Razakars. He was spared by the commander of the Razakars and later went to the military base where he was obliged to abandon his dhak and play the western drum for the Pakistan Army. He becomes devastated and even faces discrimination by the army for his religion. Later, the army kidnaps Bengali women and keeps them hostage. The

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

fighters arrive and raze the military base. Jibon later abandons the drum and takes his dhak to celebrate the liberation of his village from the razakars.

Cast

Shatabdi Wadud Shatabdi Wadud is a Bangladeshi film and television actor. He won Bangladesh National Film Award in Best Actor in a Negative Role for his role in the film Guerrilla (2011). Career In 1985 Wadud joined a drama club ''Artonad''. He joined theatre ...

as Jibonkrishna Das - A lower caste dhak player who is humiliated by the upper caste Hindus and Muslims. * Ramendu Majumdar *

Wahida Mollick Jolly Wahida Mollick Jolly is a Bangladeshi actress. She works on stage plays, television dramas and films. She won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Costume Design for the film ''Mrittika Maya'' (2013). Background Jolly's parents settled in Ra ...

Chitralekha Guho Chitralekha Guho is a Bangladeshi television, stage and film actress. She was awarded Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress is the highest award for film actresses ...

* Jyotika Jyoti as Shandharani * Rafika Eva * Tabibul Islam Babu * Pran Roy * Paresh Acharya *

Uttam Guho Uttam Guho (born 30 September) is a Bangladeshi art director of films and stage plays. He won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Art Direction a record 10 times for the films ''Anya Jibon'' (1995), ''Chitra Nodir Pare'' (1999), ''Hason Raja' ...

* Mrinal Dutta in the music video 'Ore O Dada, Ami Jabo

Sealdah Sealdah is a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Etymology Jackals (''sheal'' in Bengali) howled around Sealdah. Antiquarians identify it as Shrigaldwipa (Jackal Island). Nearby Beliaghata ...

', also sang by Dutta humself.

Music

The soundtrack album for ''Jibondhuli'' was released on July 7, 2013. The album includes two folk songs and four others written by Tanvir Mokammel. The composer of the songs is Syed Shabab Ali Arzoo, who is the film's music director. Rajkumari Dasi Sundori, a survivor of the Chuknagar massacre, unveiled the album cover.

References

{{reflist 2014 films Bengali-language Bangladeshi films Films directed by Tanvir Mokammel Films based on the Bangladesh Liberation War Government of Bangladesh grants films