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Films Division’s “Diary on Bangladesh”

By Our Film Correspondent, Right from the start of military repression in East Bengal as a reprisal of the people’s demand for independence, the Films Division’s coverage of the gruesome happenings in Bangladesh has been regular and graphic.
Week after week, its newsreels have been focussing the horror, the suffering, the carnage and the plight of the hapless people of Bangladesh. The huge exodus that started in its wake—and which shows no signs of abating yet-naturally occupies a special position in these newsreels. Through recorded interviews of the refugees heart-rending tales of suffering are presented side by side with what is actually being done for them here–the strenous efforts to cheek the cholera epidemic, the refugees’ dispersal to various camps, and the like.
A compilation of these newsreels-covering those issued between April 2 and June 11-was shown on Saturday at a special screcuing at Calcutta Information Centre, running into five reels, the compilation has been aptly titled “Diary on Bangladesh”. As a visual record of contemporary happenings with all their gruesomeness and historical implications, the Diary’s impact on viewers is undeniable.
Culling incidents from these newsreels and prefacing them with cuttings from a Hitler documentary, the Films Division has prepared another documentary titled “The Refugee, 1971″, under the direction of Benoy Roy. Its main point is to focus attention on the flagrant breach of the Human Rights declaration of the United Nations, to which Pakistan was also a signatory. This documentary, also screened on Saturday, is meant for TV showing in foreign countries to rouse would conscience against Pakistan’s misdeeds in Bangladesh.
“Durbargati Padma”, a Bengali documentary directed by Ritwik Ghatak, also formed part of the very interesting programme presented on Saturday by the Films Division.

Reference: Hindustan Standard 11.7.1971