Cinema
ওরা ১১ জন
Chashi Nazrul Islam · 1972
Synopsis
Khasru and his sister Mita live in Dhaka with their maternal uncle while they study. Khasru is engaged to their neighbour Sheela; Mita, a medical student, loves Sheela's brother, the engineer Parvez. The war of 1971 turns everything upside down: Khasru forms a guerrilla unit of eleven men, and Parvez, who helps the fighters, is arrested and tortured by the Pakistani army.
Context
The director and the lead actor, Khasru, had both fought in the Mukti Bahini. The title, “They, the Eleven”, recalls the eleven-point programme of the student movement and the eleven sectors of the war. Filming began on 21 February 1972; the eleven main roles were played by former fighters, with real weapons and real ammunition. The screenplay is by Al Masood and Kazi Aziz Ahmed, the dialogue by A. T. M. Shamsuzzaman. The film was released on 11 August 1972, or on the 13th according to other sources.
Who it is for
A film of nearly two hours; the combat scenes, which are long, are shot with real weapons, and it helps to know about the nine months of fighting in 1971.
Prizes and reception
The first film devoted to the war of liberation, it won awards at the first edition of the national awards and earned eight times its budget.