As the nation mourns the killing of acclaimed filmmaker Tareque Masud and
media personality Mishuk Munier in August 13 road crash, it appears that three others who also lost their lives with them are going into oblivion.
People know little about the dreams of Jamal, Mustafiz and Wasim crushed in the accident.
THE MASTER BUILDER
Jamal Mia was a grarami, one of the professional artisans who make ghar or traditional house.
Tareque Masud rightly recognised the artist in the 32-year-old man who had mastered the art of making mud houses. He engaged Jamal to build mud houses for the set of his next venture Kagojer Phool (The Paper Flower).
On the black day of August 13, Jamal was in the same microbus carrying the film unit of Tareque. A bus of Chuadanga Deluxe Paribahan hit their vehicle on Dhaka-Aricha highway at Ghior in Manikganj, killing the five on the spot.
Tareque’s wife Catherine Masud, painter Dhali Al Mamun, his wife Dilara Zaman Jolly and film production staff Saidul Islam were injured in the accident.
Jamal Mia lived in Chalabazar of Kapasia, Gazipur with his wife Ruma Akhter and three-year-old son Ruman in a mud house that he built on less than 700 square-feet of land four years ago.
The piece of land and the house are the only properties the down-to-earth craftsman left for his family. A rickety bed, a wooden cupboard and an old television made their belongings.
“I don’t know what to do now…how I will run the family,” the wife said sitting on her yard. Ruman was playing on the lap of his mother. The child looked pale and weak.
“He [Jamal] used to tell me how he looked forward to Ruman’s education,” she said. “I don’t know whether his dream will ever be fulfilled.”
“He never had the chance of saving money because whatever he earned, was spent on food,” she said.
On the day of the accident, Jamal was sitting on the last row of the microbus behind Dhali Al Mamun, the painter who was flown to Thailand for better treatment. The bus ran over him.
“He was a simple, honest man trying to make a living,” said Jamal’s uncle Kafil Uddin Ahmed. “His simplicity makes it more difficult for his family to get by.”
DREAM OF A BIG HOUSE
Mustafizur Rahman Mridha, 24, the driver of the microbus, always wanted to ensure higher education for his two younger brothers who passed Higher Secondary Certificate examinations successfully.
“He [Mustafizur] was elated as I informed him over the phone of our success in HSC exams last month,” Muktadir, brother of Mustafizur, said on Friday.
“Our brother always inspired us to study well and dreamt that we will own a big house and live together when we will get jobs completing studies,” Muktadir recalled.
His father Abul Kalam Mridha said Mustafizur bore the educational expenses of his brothers.
“I have no land. My family was dependent on me and Mustafizur,” said Abul Kalam, a chauffeur by profession.
“I taught him driving and he was very sincere to his duties.”
Mustafizur was buried in his family graveyard at Eshsorkathi village of Nilsmriti Upazila in Jhalakathi.
His father said the eldest of six children, Mustafizur, studied up to class-IX. He started driving the car of Tareque Masud around six years ago and most of the time he used to stay at the residence of the eminent filmmaker, said Abul Kalam.
STORY OF A FILM
Syed Motaleb Hossain was known as Wasim in the film industry. He was supposed to work as a camera assistant in Tareque’s next film Kagojer Phool.
He was buried at his village home the next day of the car crash.
Obaidul Islam Karu, an art director of Kagojer Phool, said: “Wasim was very hardworking person at the shooting spot.”
Wasim had been working in the film industry for around 25 years, said his daughter Momotaj Akhter Begum.
“My father wrote a script for a movie and dreamt to shoot it by himself one day,” said Momtaz, who lives with his husband in city’s Badda.
Living in a mess at the capital’s Begunbari area, Wasim, 45, used to send money every month for his wife and son living a village in Tangail.
“My father was the only breadwinner of our family. Except for five-katha land in Tangail, we have nothing.” said Momtaj.
Momtaj said Wasim used to visit her house in Badda and tell her that he will direct a movie one day and then bring his family to Dhaka. “But his dream has been shattered.”
-With The Daily Star input
