Cinema
Quiet Flows the River Chitra
Chitra Nodir Pare
Tanvir Mokammel · 1999
Synopsis
After the partition of 1947, many Hindu families leave East Pakistan. In Narail, a small town on the banks of the Chitra, the lawyer Shashikanta Sengupta, a somewhat eccentric widower, refuses to leave; he lives with his children, Minoti and Bidyut, and an affectionate old aunt, Anuprava. Muslim neighbours covet the house, but the children grow up with the ones next door, Badal, Salma and Nazma, and between Minoti and Badal something more than friendship is born.
Context
The director grew up in Narail, next door to a Hindu lawyer who said he never wanted to leave the banks of the Chitra; this neighbour partly served him as a model for Shashikanta. He wrote and produced the film, whose music is by Syed Shabab Ali Arzoo; Momtazuddin Ahmed plays the lawyer, with Afsana Mimi as Minoti and Tauquir Ahmed as Badal. The film was shown at the festivals of London, Oslo, Fribourg, Singapore, Delhi, Calcutta and Trivandrum.
Who it is for
A film of nearly two hours; it helps to know what the choice of leaving or staying after 1947 meant for the Hindus of East Bengal.
Prizes and reception
Seven national awards for 1999, including best film and direction; Ahmed Muztaba Zamal ranked it in 2000 among the twelve best films of the country.