An assignment on

A book & a film based on 1971 liberation war

[BDS-109: Bangladesh 1971 through the Lenses]

Submitted to
Mushfeqa Islam
Lecturer B
Department of Media and Communication
School of Liberal Arts & Social
Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB)

Submitted by

Student ID Name

2110044 Md. Rafiur Rahman

2220548 Akila Amzad

Batch: Autumn 2022 Semester

Bangladesh 1971 through the Lenses- Section 5
Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB)

Date of Submission: 30 November, 2022

Book Name: “Khelaghor” by Mahmudul Haque
Movie Name: “Khelaghor” directed by Morshedul Islam

Background

Khelaghor is a contemporary novella written by Mahmudul Haque based on the liberation war
period of Bangladesh. It was first published in 1988. The novella has a female lead character named
Rehana and the story develops around her chapter by chapter. Most of the story is described from
the first-person perspective but some chapters are described from a third-person perspective. At
first impression, it is a small book with only 80 pages but has surprising depth within it. Later in
2006 director Morshedul Islam adapted this book into a film.

Characters

The notable characters of the Khelaghor are Rehana, Yakub, Mukul, and Pier Muhammad. Rehana
is the female protagonist who represents the female war victims. Yakub is the male protagonist
who represents those during the war who were living within a bubble of comfort and had doubts
about the resistance. Mukul represents the brave and young who made the first leap and started the
fire of resistance. Pier Muhammad is a passive character mentioned many times throughout the
book & the film who represents the evil people of the society during the war who exploited the
people along with Pakistani aggressors.

Synopsis

Yakub was given charge of a war refugee Rehana to take care of for a few days by a close
acquaintance. Circumstances forced Yakub to accompany Rehana to a semi-abandoned house in a
jungle area to keep her safe. Resistance forces were only starting to respond in the war at that time.
However, in the secluded house named Adinather Vita Yakub and Rehana were untouched by the
war. During the stay, Rehana talked about her childhood nonstop with Yakub. The time spent in
the house and the rumors about the war have been the defining forces of the book & the film.

Liberation War

Even though ‘Khelaghor’ is a liberation period literature, war has always remained in the
background with no active actions involved throughout the plot. What was known of the war
mostly came from rumors and resistance activist Mukul. The notable facts, events, and insights on
the liberation war from the book & the film are listed:
§ The location of the plot is in Mitusar, a region in the present Dhaka division. It is not far from
Dhaka city. The timeline of the story in the book & the film can be assumed as the early days when
there were no activities of the Resistance force or Pakistani force near that location. Only at the
end of the book & the film, did a platoon of the resistance force come into that area.

§ The book & the film showed that there were some unethical people with power in society who
abused their power to advance self-agendas. Those were the people who primarily joined the
Pakistani force and created a despicable organization named Rajakar. One such person was Pier
Muhammad who had many vices and did woman trafficking secretly. He was also a very powerful
person.

§ The book indicates that the economy was not yet broken during the first periods of war. The
characters were through rationing, they were not in desperate situations. It is also mentioned that
at least some employees were receiving salaries even though institutions like schools and colleges
were shut down. Because Mukul and Yakub, college teachers, were receiving salaries.

§ People preferred locally produced products as they bought clothes made by local weavers. To
disrupt the supply chain of the population, Pakistani forces attacked the weaver community and
completely demolished and destroyed everything. The gruesome description of one such event is
presented in the book. It shows the level of atrocity committed by the Pakistanis.

§ The local people in Mitusar were tensed for something bad to happen, holding their breath. As
rumors of Pakistani monstrosity were coming by air and deformed dead bodies were coming by
water. The slightest activities were enough to fuel the anxiety of the people. Such as, once a
gunshot was heard in the village and everybody thought the Pakistanis had come, but this actually
was caused by just a local quarrel.

§ At the early stage of the war, many people were confused and did not want to involve themselves
in the war because of the fear of losing what little safety they might have. Even one of the lead
character Yakub was reluctant to join the resistance and wanted to cling to the comfort and safety
he could find. Most people only cared about themselves and did not commit until the last moment.
§ The book & the film also shows people like Mukul who were enthusiastic about the war and
helped the resistance force however they could.

Female Protagonist

The female lead character Rehana plays a very significant role by representing the struggles of the
female war victims during and after the liberation war. Most of the story revolves around her but
does not tell the story from her perspective. Much of her is known from the tales of her childhood
and her relative at the end of the story. Rehana maintained a mysterious aura throughout the book
& the film. The bits and facts gathered about her from the book are:

§ Rehana was left deeply scarred from the abuse by the Pakistani invaders in the wake of the war.
The specifics were not provided but the effects were easy to notice. Rehana talked nonstop about
her childhood. It is a known behavior in people who face severe trauma. The mind retreats to the
past memories that can be dealt with instead of processing the horrors of the present.

§ When Yakub embraced her, she abruptly became very upset. This aversion to physical contact
is another reaction shown by abused people. It indicates how much difficult it had been for those
victims to return to normal life after the war.

§ In the book Rehana was first sent to live with a big family but soon had to leave because the
females of the family were uncomfortable with her. It also shows how society reacted and
responded to those wartime victims, further adding to their miseries. While in the film Rehana was
not comfortable living at the house with that family.

§ From the childhood stories of Rehana, it can be seen that her past was also full of tragedies.
Two of her close friends referred to as ‘Pata’ and ‘Babu’ died from accidents. Her best friend
‘Pata’ had abusive guardians which also affected Rehana.

§ Moreover, Rehana lost both her mother and father at an early age. As a result, she grew up with
her grandparents. Most of the good memories she shared were with her grandparents. The book or
the film did not say whether they were still alive at that time.
From the mouth of Rehana, Mahmudul Haque illustrated the challenging life of the females in the
era of the liberation war.

Conclusion

Mahmudul Haque has brilliantly depicted a glimpse of the contemporary society during the
liberation war period. The book gives the readers a better comprehension of the social mechanism
during the liberation war period and the scar it left on people, especially on female war victims.
Morshedul Islam adapted this beautiful story in a film. He made the story alive to us with his
making of the film.